


Come On Skinny Love

by thehotinpsychotic



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: 21p, joshler - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-03-12 19:39:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 49,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3352934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehotinpsychotic/pseuds/thehotinpsychotic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler had been home schooled every year of his life. That is, until his parents moved him to a suburban city in Ohio and enrolled him in a public high school. On his very first day in the town, Tyler got into a fight with a group of boys, and his savior from that scrap was none other than Josh Dun. The boy's almost excessive helpfulness put Tyler off, but Josh managed to give Tyler a ride home, and in doing so, Josh met Tyler's family. The two got closer, and on the first day of high school, Josh found Tyler and showed him around the school. The boys developed a close friendship, which in turn transformed into a love, but a very special kind of love, perhaps one of the more frustrating kinds. </p><p>Josh and Tyler find themselves trapped in a case of skinny love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Sending Tyler to public school was easily the worst thing his parents had ever done to him. He barely had any social experience with kids his own age- the only time he was around them was at local basketball tournaments. Even then, those teams were comprised of kids that were homeschooled just like Tyler. In other words, those kids were just as poorly socialized as he was. How was he supposed to learn how to be normal by being around kids that were just as awkward as he was? It was like sticking the failing students in the same study hall and asking why they couldn’t get help on their homework in there. You can’t group together kids with the same weaknesses, and that’s an idea Tyler said over and over although no adults would listen.

Even before the torture of high school began, Tyler was pushed into social situations he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. For instance, on the day they moved into their new home; they hadn’t been in the house for more than a couple of hours when Tyler’s mom ordered him to go outside.

“”But what will I do?” Tyler asked. He sat on the counter, kicking his feet as he added, “I don’t know anyone.”

“So? Make friends!” His mom slid him a five dollar bill, explaining, “Just in case you get thirsty.”

Tyler rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks Mom.”

His mother didn’t miss a beat. “You’re welcome sweetie!” She slid a box over by the table, then swatting Tyler’s side lightly with a dish rag. “Now get your little butt off my countertop.”

Tyler sighed and hopped down; calling on his way out the door, “Just hope I don’t hang with the wrong crowd! We’ll do all the alcohol!”

It may not have seemed like it, but Tyler was pissed. His own mom practically threw him to the wolves, armed with nothing but five dollars and a bike, which he had to lug down from the back of the car himself. What she didn’t know is that he’d snuck a book up his shirt, and that reading was the only thing he planned on accomplishing that afternoon.

But first, he needed a good spot to settle down. He didn’t have to ride the bike far before coming across a park. He’d set down his bicycle in the grass, propped himself up against a big oak, and was totally ready to lose himself in the story when he heard it.

“Free throw!”

Someone was playing basketball.

Tyler tuned in, slowly rising at the sound of shoes slapping across concrete. He followed the noises up a small hill, where at the top; he could see the boys playing basketball just down the hill.

Tyler ran down the thing as fast as he could without falling, rushing onto the court, where six boys stood, caught in an argument pertaining to the previous play.

“Hey guys!” Tyler chirped. The shrillness of his voice surprised even himself, and it raised some startled flinches from a couple of the teens. He moved on, asking, “Can I play?”

One of them laughed, replying, “We’re kinda in the middle of a game, pipsqueak.”

His friends laughed as well, and Tyler couldn’t help but notice the heat rising to his cheeks. He remained calm nonetheless, assuring, “That’s cool; I’ll wait.”

That same boy chuckled, responding, “I don’t think you get it, retard. We don’t want you.”

He then chest passed the ball harshly at Tyler’s stomach, catching Tyler off guard and knocking the wind out of him. Tyler took a second to recollect himself before hurling the ball back, making solid contact with the boy’s crotch.

The larger teen fell to his knees, letting out a series of loud coughs, which were followed by gagging.

Tyler didn’t have the most experience with pissing others off, with the obvious exception of his parents. But even someone as ill experienced as him knew that in racking the boy he’d crossed a line. He became nervous, stumbling back to find an escape route. As he backtracked, he wound up directly into the chest of one of those kids, who seized Tyler’s arms and pinned them behind his back.

The boy rose from the ground, stumbling over to punch Tyler square in the stomach.

Tyler coughed, tears building up in his throat. He was hit again, harder this time, and not only did his knees buckle, but this time, the tears started running down his face.  
It was at the fourth punch that Tyler was about ready to throw up, and it was in that moment that he was saved.

“HEY!” a voice roared. “Get the fuck away from him!”

Tyler was let go and he fell onto his belly. He wasn’t sure who the voice was defending, so he took his best defense by curling into a fetal position.

Tyler heard the other kids run away, so he was sure that whoever had yelled was bad news. He was considering taking a run for it when he was nudged with the toe of a shoe.

Tyler peeked up at whoever was prodding him, to see this kid standing there. The kid was definitely taller than Tyler, and he had this pink hair that clashed with his blue shirt. The boy looked down at Tyler and offered him a hand.

Tyler took the boy’s massive paw warily, standing gradually. The boy brushed off Tyler’s shirt, hitting spots like his stomach and shoulders. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Tyler stammered. He remained cautious of the boy, and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m Josh Dun.” The boy stated his name as if it were common law, like his name was in the Ohio school curriculum. “Looks like you took quite the beating, little guy.”

Tyler blushed, replying, “N-not really, just a couple of punches, that’s all.” He headed off towards his bike, pivoting to add, “I’m not little.”

Josh jogged to keep up with him, smacking him on the back unintentionally hard as he comforted, “Dude, don’t worry about those guys. They’re just chicken shits. You see how one guy, me, got them running?”

“I wasn’t worried,” Tyler snapped. He pushed forward, letting Josh's hand drop off his back. This Josh character was really starting to get on his nerves.

“I never said you were,” Josh combatted. He rushed up to Tyler, sticking a hand down the back of his pants.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” Tyler demanded. Tyler had an unfortunate amount of experience with boys sticking their hands down his pants, and all of that experience pointed towards one idea: Josh was trying to give him a wedgie. The fucker had been playing him all along. “Quit it!”

Josh immediately stopped, assuring, “I was just untucking your shirt. You can’t walk around this town with a t shirt tucked into basketball shorts.”

Tyler blushed, stuttering, “L-look kid, I- I don’t need your help. So-so just back off, okay?”

“I’m not trying to help you,” Josh responded.

Tyler picked up his pace, reaching his bike. He undid the kickstand, retorting, “No, you really are. I don’t need a fairy godmother watching over me, okay? I’m completely fine on my own.”

Not a second after those words left Tyler’s mouth, the bike he had mounted tipped, sending him back onto his ass, his legs tangled in the bike’s framework.

Josh had to fight every cell in his body to not help the kid up. But then again, fighting who he was went against everything his parents had taught him. So he grabbed Tyler’s hand, pulling him to his feet.

Tyler scowled at Josh, hopping on his bike once more.

“Where are you going?” Josh questioned. He could tell that he was annoying Tyler, but it was one of those times where he physically couldn’t help himself.

“Home,” Tyler spat.

“Oh,” Josh mumbled, hanging his head. He swiftly perked up, asking, “Can I come with you?”

Tyler winced, muttering, “Gee, I don’t know. This is kind of a one person bike.”

Josh laughed, digging into his pocket and pulling out his car keys. “How do you think I got here?”

Tyler pouted, walking his bike along as he followed Josh to his truck. Tyler watched the jumble of keychains jiggle in Josh’s hand as they walked, and he took note of the Care Bear keychain as well as the Driver’s Ed mascot, a puppy.

Josh drove this giant truck, this red rusted thing that made the junior seem minuscule in comparison. He leaped into the front seat, asking, “Tyler, do you need help getting up?”

Tyler, with difficulty, set his bike into the truck bed, then proceeding to the passenger side. He struggled up into shotgun, glaring at Josh and telling, “I don’t need help, thank you.”

Josh merely chirped, “Okay!” as he started the car. He turned on the car’s radio system, flipping it to the CD mode.

The sound of Aesop Rock filled the car. The fast rhymes spat with such intensity made Tyler raise an eyebrow. “What is this?”

Josh chuckled, gesturing to the radio. “This? The artist?”

Tyler shook his head. “No, like… it’s not rock but-”

“It’s rap,” Josh giggled. He peered over at Tyler, flicking his eyes back to the road. “What’s your name? You never told me.”

“It’s Tyler,” Tyler mumbled. “Tyler Joseph.”

Josh smirked. “You have two first names.”

Tyler rolled his eyes, sighing, “It’s going to be a long car ride.”

“Well, yeah, seeing as I don’t know where you live,” Josh giggled. “It could take a while driving around all of Columbus.”

Tyler couldn’t hold back his chuckle, and he informed, “I live on 622 Walnut Street.”

“Cool, I know where you live!” Josh squeaked. “That’ll come in handy.”

Tyler smiled once more, and he found his annoyance with the boy to be melting. Those feelings were being replaced with something, something better.

This Josh kid… Tyler supposed that he had good intentions, that was obvious. He was nice, and outgoing for sure.

But Josh could also do something Tyler never understood, something Tyler wouldn’t understand until his first relationship, and that was how to put others before yourself. Tyler wasn’t selfish- no, he’d lose a limb for just about any one of his family members but… in a given situation where he’s torn between his own plans and someone else’s, Tyler is the first thing in his mind. And he doesn’t think that’s so bad. Caring for others more than yourself is a tight line to walk on, right on the border of not giving yourself the proper care. Tyler’s grandmother used to tell him, “Never ever set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm.” Tyler figured as a younger child that it was just an off the wall comment, but as he got older, he grew to really hold that mantra close to him.

“Never ever set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm.”


	2. Chapter 2

      Josh found the house with ease. He pulled up against the curb, and just as Tyler was turning to leave, Josh asked, “Can I come in?”

      Tyler grimaced, stammering, “W-well I-uh, _I’m_ not against it, but you’d probably have to meet my family so…”

      “That’s fine; I make a good first impression.” With that, Josh followed Tyler out of the truck and up the porch step.

      Before entering the Joseph home, Tyler advised, “Now Josh, my mom likes Bruno Mars and innovative housing designs. And my dad hates Obama, so don’t bring it up. And if you end up alone with my dad, just go on about basketball and things will go great.”

      “But I don’t know anything about basketball,” Josh interjected.

      Tyler opened the door, whispering to Josh, “Then make shit up.”

      Tyler’s mom is the first to greet the pair. “Hey guys! Tyler, how’d it go?”

      Tyler lies with ease. “Everything went fine. I went to the park and ran into this..

guy.”

      “And what might his name be?” Mrs. Joseph asked.

      “Mom, this is Josh,” Tyler introduced.

      Josh outstretched his hand, telling, “It’s nice to meet you.”

      “It’s great to meet you, Josh,” Mrs. Joseph replied. She couldn’t resist the urge to pinch his cheek, and as she did so, remarked, “Aren’t you just the cutest thing?”

      Josh blushed, clearly flattered. In that moment, he really didn’t know what to do or say. Usually, he was so good with meeting new people, parents in particular. But he’s never really met a girlfriend’s parents without being dismissed in moments after a look at his piercings and dyed hair, and even when he met friends’ parents, he wouldn’t be banished, but certainly brushed off. He hasn’t really been complimented by anyone other than a peer in a long time.

      “Mom, you’re embarrassing him,” Tyler groaned.

      Mrs. Joseph straightened herself, proposing, “Why don’t you boys go to Tyler’s room? There’s plenty of food and drinks in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

      “Thanks,” Tyler muttered. He walked past, grabbing a can of Coke on the way to his bedroom.

      He had the last pick of the bedrooms, being the baby of the family. His sister was actually younger than he, and she was the spoiled baby sibling archetype, whereas Tyler was the youngest of the boys, making him the butt of every joke, the third wheel to any situation, and the receiver of each single wedgie or wet willy dished out in the Joseph house. It’s amazing he hadn’t suffered permanent brain damage from the amount of noogies he’s gotten from Jay, one of his big brothers.

      Tyler’s stuff had yet to be moved in. His shelves were bare and dressers empty; even his bed was missing sheets and blankets. Instead of hanging around a desolate bedroom (which, at that point, looked more like a prison cell), Josh suggested that they go to the local pool.

      “Pool?” Tyler asked. “There’s a pool?”

      Josh chuckled, replying, “Yeah, we’re in Columbus. Of course there’s a pool, dummy.”

      “I….” Tyler was contemplating whether or not to go. He didn’t really want to change in front of Josh for fear of being made fun of, and for that same reason, he wasn’t really anxious to be shirtless around a bunch of other kids his age. “I don’t have any swim trunks unpacked.”

      Josh grabbed Tyler by the sleeve of his shirt, pulling him out the door as he offered, “You can borrow a pair of mine.”

      Josh had over three pairs of trunks in the back of his pickup alone. Tyler could only imagine how many more swimsuits he had stashed at his house. He rooted through what Josh had with him, finally producing a black and grey striped pair of trunks.

      “Toss me some, will you?” Josh asked, hopping into the front seat. He started the car, flipping on the air conditioning first thing.

      Tyler fished out a pair of solid red ones and passed them to Josh, who snatched them with one hand. “Thanks, man.”

      “No problem,” Tyler replied, jogging around the truck to the passenger seat. He buckled in, asking, “Are we changing there?”

      “Pfft,” Josh snickered, shaking his head. “No way, dude. There’s never any stalls open, and the open area is too crowded. Just change in here.”

      Tyler blinked. “In the truck?”  
      Josh nodded simply. “Yeah, in the truck..”

      “I’m not getting naked as we cruise down the suburbs,” Tyler objected.

      “Who said you have to get naked?” Josh asked.

      “To put on a swimsuit you do,” Tyler reasoned.

      Again, Josh scoffed, shaking his head. “No, just keep your underwear on.”

      Tyler grumbled to himself, taking off his shorts nonetheless. He slipped the swimming trunks over himself as quickly as he could, not exactly wanting Josh to see his white briefs. It was laundry day; he wouldn’t have worn them had he known that someone else may be seeing them.

      “Steer for a second, will you?” Josh requested. With no more of a warning, he took both hands off the wheel, struggling to shimmy his cargo shorts off.

      Tyler sprawled himself across the seat in order to get both his hands on the wheel, struggling to steer from the passenger side. “Josh!”

      “One second,” Josh mumbled, more focused on his fly than the possibility of a collision. He worked the bottoms down to his ankles, tapping the gas pedal slightly as he kicked them off completely.

      Tyler proceeded to make helpless yelping and whimpering sounds, followed by anxious muttering examining the possible outcomes of a car accident.

      Josh finally pulled up his trunks over himself, returning to the wheel. He took his eyes off the road briefly to pat Tyler’s shoulder, telling, “Thanks, man.”

      “Look at the road!” Tyler squeaked.

      The two miraculously reached the pool in one piece. Tyler was beginning to question the legitimacy of Josh’s driver’s license, or rather, the instructor that had made the conscious decision he was a capable driver.

      The pool wasn’t busy by relative standards; there was a soccer tournament in another town that rid of most of the usual attendees. Along with that, it was the first day of football training camp, and so any boy who was in the sport was spending the remainder of his day following the camp either sleeping off the early morning or combatting the exercise with large blizzards from the local dairy mart.

      Tyler was grateful for the lack of kids there; he’d never really gotten along well with new people, in fact, Josh was probably a best case scenario. Not to mention that despite the fact that he and Josh were becoming friends, Tyler was worried that Josh would drop him if someone better crossed their path.

      As the two swam, Tyler couldn’t help but notice what a string bean he was compared to Josh. Tyler had never thought of himself as too remarkably skinny or frail, but if you put him next to Josh, he was a twig. Josh had muscles, something Tyler didn’t really know a lot about at age fourteen. He knew what they were, sure, but how to get them was a whole different story.

      “Um, Josh?” Tyler asked tentatively. He didn’t really know how to go about phrasing what he was about to say without coming off as strange.

      Josh dunked his head into the water and resurfaced, shaking his head like a dog and sending a mist of water in every direction. “Yeah?”

      “Do you work out?”

      Josh chuckled a little, answering, “Yeah, I do.”

      Tyler blushed at how weird he sounded. He pushed forward, “Do you think I could join you?” What Tyler was looking for was to not be such a twig, that and to protect himself not only from the bullies at school but from the ones within the walls of his home as well. Of course, he didn’t want Josh to know that, so he hastily added, “I mean, I’ll be doing basketball this winter and I’m a little out of shape.”

      Josh nodded, replying, “Yeah. We can start once school kicks up.”

      “Yeah,” Tyler agreed. “When is that again?”

      “Next month,” Josh reminded.

      Tyler gulped, a fluttering anxiety swirling through his stomach. “Great.”


	3. Chapter 3

In the few weeks before the first day of school, Tyler crammed as much knowledge of public schooling as he could into his head. He relied on Yahoo Answers and Youtube clips for a glimpse of what high school might be like, and by the looks of it, everyone did drugs and got into fights a lot.

      Although Tyler hadn’t had the most prep time for what he then considered to be a huge turning point in his life, he couldn’t have been ready if he was given 5 years to study. The issue wasn’t one of time or resources; Tyler was extremely talented academically. If he could’ve sat down and read a textbook on high school, he would’ve. But the problem was one of experience,  meaning that he simply wouldn’t be able to do anything about it until it actually happened.

      Tyler was supposed to ride with Josh to school on the first day. Doing this got rid of the awkward new kid entrance where it’s clear that he doesn’t have friends and everyone whispers about him. Unfortunately, Josh had been stupid enough to sleep in that morning. That’s right, of all days to sleep in, the typically punctual Josh chose the very first day of school.

      So Tyler waited and waited for a ride, texting and calling Josh to receive no answers. He was utterly determined not to go to school alone; it took his mom about ten minutes to convince Tyler to let her drop him off.

      Even then, Tyler begged his mom to drop him off a block away from the campus. He didn’t want to risk anyone seeing him getting out of the Joseph’s family friendly powder blue minivan, the one with all the anti-hate stickers on the back. His mom rolled her eyes but did so nonetheless, stealing a quick peck on the cheek before driving off.

      Tyler’s heart raced in his chest as he approached the school. His stomach clenched and grumbled and his intestines squirmed in protest. Tyler’s own digestive system was objecting the idea of him going into that school on his own.

      Tyler reached the building sooner than he’d like to. The bell wasn’t due to ring for fifteen minutes, and he had no one to talk to, so what he was supposed to do in that time was beyond him.

      He dug his schedule from the bottom of his pants pocket, unfolding the thing with trembling fingers. His eyes scanned the page, quickly noticing the room that his first class was in. English I was way up on the third floor in a room that Tyler couldn’t wrap his head around. He figured he’d go there, but first, he’d grab some breakfast.

      Josh had taken the liberty of drawing Tyler a map of the school, which was lousy in scale and neatness, but was fairly useful in locating most rooms and parking lots. Tyler’s thumb followed the trail of the map to the cafeteria, which went through the first floor hallway, down a flight of stairs to the basement, and then a hard left into the lunchroom.

      Tyler got in the line of kids, unable to help but notice how differently he was dressed. It was still August, late August, meaning that the heat was almost unbearable. A sea of tank tops and shorts surrounded Tyler, who was dressed in red skinny jeans and a grey button up. He felt very out of place, a feeling that he wasn’t quite used to. He’d grown up in a family full of people a lot like him, and to be outcast right of the bat was disheartening to say the least.

      No one said a word to Tyler; all the kids were either talking to their friends or on their phones. Tyler merely looked around, feeling even more insecure at the silence he gave as conversation swelled around him.

      He grabbed a brick of breakfast pizza along with a little plastic cup of juice. Making his way through the line quietly, he presented his student I.D. card to the woman at the end before starting the task of finding a seat.          

      About every other table held some teens at it, and these were the ones Tyler was looking to avoid. He knew he’d have to get to know someone eventually, but he was sure that with his luck he’d pick the wrong crowd and they’d latch on like leeches to a vein. He wanted to avoid the draining of his social life.

      So he sat by himself, resting at a table in the middle of the mess. He ran a hand through his hair slowly as he ate, chewing carefully. He peered out around him, not really noticing much. It’s hard to take notice of specific things when everything seems general. No kid stood out to him, no poster on the wall, and no tile on the floor. Everything was as plain as could be; nothing eye catching or interest sparking was to be found.

Maybe his first day wouldn’t be so bad.


	4. Chapter 4

                When the bell rang to go to first class, Tyler didn’t waste any time throwing his things away and heading upstairs. He knew that the school had a six minute pass time, but he had no idea how long it might take to get to his first class. He thought it best to not take any chances, and with that in mind he rushed up the flights of stairs, stumbling a bit due to his weak knees.

            He reached the classroom to see that only a small group of kids had beat him there, leaving a lot of seating options. Tyler had no idea where to sit, but he knew he wanted to be alone, so he grabbed a desk in the very back corner of the room farthest from the door. He figured that would be best for everyone.

            As more and more students filed in, Tyler found that he would not be able to be alone in this class. Which made sense; it was a required course. It only made sense that there would be twenty four students taking it. Tyler quickly found himself surrounded by a sea of unfamiliar faces, and it was really starting to grind his nerves.

            Sitting there quietly while everyone else talked to their friends made him feel like some sort of stranger. He had this persistent feeling that he really didn’t belong there, and it was a recurring feeling throughout the day.

            The teacher got everyone to be quiet once the bell rang. She was an overweight, but cute and relatively young woman with curly brown hair and deep green eyes. She had a smile that showed that she really cared; it made her seem like more of a preschool teacher than a high school instructor.

            She took a bit of time to introduce herself and welcome the class, the majority of which were freshman. She handed a boy a stack of papers, which he passed to the rest of the kids.

            Tyler anticipated his copy, taking it from the boy ahead of him, mumbling a, “Thanks.” Tyler figured he needed all the friends he could make, and that an easy way to win over people was by being polite.

            Tyler read through the grading scale and syllabus as the teacher talked, noticing that participation in reading and sharing was a big part of the class. He knew right of the bat that he was doomed; he could either accept a lousy grade and keep his dignity or make an idiot out of himself with an audience. He couldn’t decide which he’d rather take.

            He sighed, leaning forward in his seat. He couldn’t wind down like the rest of the kids. He was too apprehensive about high school as a whole; so many things could go wrong and he felt that they would.

            Tyler practically ran from that class once the bell dismissed them, sliding in between desks and legs and backpacks and god knows what else as he moved through the room. He speed walked his way to his next period, but not before finding his locker.

            He dropped off the textbook he had been given for English 1, sticking it in the lower shelf. He had a random locker partner, whose name he knew but face he didn’t. It was a boy, and by the looks of the locker, he was very tidy. Tyler assumed they’d get along.

            He closed the locker, and about a second after he realized he’d set his phone down and left it in there. It was just his luck that the locker handle jammed. Tyler fumbled with it, jerking the thing so hard that he was half afraid he’d break the damned thing. He ended up losing his temper and planting a fist in the locker door, hard enough to make some noise, but soft enough to make his hand only sting.

            “Having troubles?”

            A girl had said that. Tyler turned to face her, this blond girl standing next to him. She was taller than Tyler, easily by about a head. He had to practically look up at her just to make eye contact. He crossed his arms, embarrassed by his outburst. He admitted softly, “Sorta.”

            She grinned, leaning over to jig it loose. “There.”

            Tyler collected his phone sheepishly, muttering, “Thanks.”

            “No problem,” she assured. “My name’s Jenna. You’re new here, aren’t you?”

            “Yeah, how’d you know?” Tyler asked.

            She shrugged, replying, “We get excited about new kids. For the next week, you’ll be a celebrity here. Just don’t mess up while the spotlight’s on you.”

            Tyler forced a bit of a chuckle, looking at the ground. The possibility of him doing exactly what she’d warned him against was all too likely.

            “You’re Tyler, right?”

            Tyler nodded, meeting her eyes once more. “Tyler Joseph.”

            Jenna nodded, telling, “I’ll see you around.”

            With that she left, leaving Tyler staring dumbly at where she once stood. He noticed that his heartrate had picked up while they were talking, and that his stomach was fluttering. He’d never felt so starstruck. He practically forgot who he was.

            The warning tone sounded, urging Tyler to snap out of it and head to his next class.

            Josh showed up around third hour, using his charm to not receive an unexcused absence. He didn’t see Tyler or speak to him until lunch, and when he did, boy, had something gotten into his friend.

            “About time you showed up,” Tyler joked. He poked at his broccoli, this soggy pale green mess.

            Josh shoveled a forkful of the mush into his mouth, cracking back, “I’m surprised they went on teaching without me.”

            Tyler grinned, gazing into his lap. He suddenly bolted upright, smacking Josh in the shoulder a few times. “Hey, hey.”

            “Ouch, ouch,” Josh retorted, batting Tyler’s hand away. “You don’t have to hit me to get my attention, you know.”

            “Sorry, I’m just excited,” Tyler responded.

            Josh furrowed his brows. He put down his silverware, crossing his arms. “About?”

            “This girl I met,” Tyler confessed. “Her name’s Jenna, do you know a Jenna?”

            “Yeah, I mean, I know a couple,” Josh answered. “Describe her, man.”

            Tyler got a little embarrassed, scratching at the back of his head as he stammered, “Ah, um…. Blond, t-tall. Like, a head taller than me.”

            Josh scoffed, “Just because you’re short doesn’t make her tall.”

            “She had blue eyes,” Tyler added.

            “There we go.” Josh pointed his fork at Tyler, informing, “That is Jenna Black.”

            “Jenna Black, wow,” Tyler gushed.

            Josh widened his eyes. “What, you don’t have like a crush on her, do you?”

            Tyler then got very embarrassed. He sort of put his arms up on the table, burying his chin in them.

            “Aw, you totally do!” Josh said. “That’s just so cute, my little Tyler having a crush on someone. I must say, I thought your libido was totally repressed, but I guess I was wrong.”

            “Shut up!” Tyler giggled. “I have a libido!”

            “How?” Josh challenged.

            Tyler continued laughing, reasoning, “Just because I don’t watch porn or talk about hot girls doesn’t mean I don’t… you know…”

            “Pop boners?” Josh asked with a wink.

            “Gross!” Tyler objected.

            “Did you ever get sex education?” Josh demanded.

            “From my brothers, yeah,” Tyler replied.

            Josh shook his head. “Not good enough. I’m giving you a course on sex ed, starting today after school.” He wiped his mouth, crumpling his napkin as he mentioned, “Free of charge.”

            Tyler rolled his eyes, saying sarcastically, “Gee, thanks.”

            Josh reached over to put a hand on Tyler’s shoulder, assuring, “It’s what friends do.”

            Tyler decided he’d stomach Josh’s crash course. He knew that his friend was just trying to help, in the only way he knew how. Josh was just filling in where Tyler was lacking, and that’s what friendship was all about to Tyler. Two halves making a whole. It was almost the same as romance; no wonder the line between platonic and romantic relationships was blurred so easily.


	5. Chapter 5

          Tyler really didn’t know what to expect when he met up with Josh after school. They met at Josh’s locker, which was located on the first floor. Being a freshman, Tyler didn’t spend a whole lot of time on the first floor. The majority of his classes were held on the upper floors of the building, with the exception of vocal and art. Josh was just all over the place, it seemed, from second floor to third, basement to first. He could not get a break.

            Maybe that’s why he suggested they meet at his locker and not Tyler’s. Leaning against his locker, he had his phone out and was texting someone.

            Tyler approached him, asking, “Who are you talking to?”

            Josh tucked his phone in his pocket, replying, “This girl.”

            Tyler was impressed. “You have a girlfriend?”

            “Nah,” Josh replied. “We’re just talking, but I think she’s into me.” He started walking off, so Tyler followed. “Chicks can be hard to read sometimes.”

            Tyler frowned. “Because they’re women?” He really didn’t want his friendship with Josh to come to a halting stop due to casual sexism.

            Josh shook his head, telling earnestly, “No, because they’re people.”

            All but beaming, Tyler tailed Josh to his truck.

            Josh played more of that rap music of his as they traveled down the highway. “Wanna go to my house? I mean, my parents aren’t home. I’d hate for anyone to overhear my lesson.”

            Tyler raised an eyebrow. “Just how explicit is it going to get?”

            “You just wait,” Josh said with a smile.         

            Tyler gulped, sinking lower in his seat.

            They pulled up to a warm cinnamon colored house in the center of a cul-de-sac. Josh parked off the curb, hopping out of the truck.

            Tyler raced to catch up as they started up the porch steps, asking, “Any quick pointers about your home?”

            Josh shook his head. “No one’s home, man. Abby has volleyball and Ashley’s at dance.” Groping around the door’s frame, he fished out a key from the wood. He unlocked the front door, allowing Tyler to pass ahead before closing the door behind them both.

            “What are they like?” Tyler asked. Josh gave him a bit of a blank stare, so Tyler added, “Your sisters, I mean.”

            Josh shrugged. “They’re okay, I guess. Can’t say too much either way.” He leads Tyler up the stairs, leaping up them two at a time. Tyler does quick paces up behind him, reaching the top slower. Finally ending up in Josh’s room, he closes the door. “Can’t be too careful,” Josh mutters.

            Josh’s room is this cluttered thing with posters scattered across the walls and Christmas lights strung around his door frame. A potted cactus sits on his nightstand, and a cat scratching post in one corner. Tyler can’t help but notice a whiteboard over Josh’s desk, which currently has a crude alien drawn on it in blue ink. Josh erases this, scribbling “SEX ED” over the board’s surface. “Have a seat, Ty.”

            Tyler does as he’s told, sinking into Josh’s soft mattress. “Alrighty, what’s first, Big J?” Tyler liked that he’d already been given a nickname, so he thought it was only common courtesy to return the favor.

            “I’m going to ask you a pretty personal question,” Josh began dramatically. “But based on prior observations, I’m going to have to be upfront about it.”

            “Give it to me straight,” Tyler urged.

            “What kind of underwear are you wearing?”

            Tyler blinked. “What?”

            Josh sighed, repeating, “What kind of underwear are you wearing?”

            Tyler started to feel blood float to his cheeks. “I…”

            Setting down his marker, Josh leaned over the smaller boy. “Please, just answer the question.”

            Tyler didn’t say anything, not sure what to do.

            Josh groaned, “I didn’t want to have to do this.” With that, he tackled Tyler, scrambling around the boy’s waist.

            “Wh-what are you _doing_?” Tyler squeaked. He squirmed around, placing his hands on Josh’s chest and pushing upward. “Get off of me!”

            “Stop… mmf…. _Resisting!”_ Josh ordered. He grasped around the waistband of Tyler’s pants.

            “Don’t!” Tyler yelped, struggling beneath Josh. Unfortunately for Tyler, Josh was much taller and bigger, enough so that really the only challenge Tyler posed to Josh was how damn wriggly he was.

            Josh grabbed a hold of the waistband to Tyler’s underwear, falling on his back and bringing Tyler on top of him. Looking over the teen’s shoulder, Josh tugged up on the fabric. “They’re… red.”

            “Okay, great, let me go!” Tyler yipped. He tried to stand, but Josh still had a firm hold on his undies.

            “Boxer briefs or regular briefs?” Josh demanded.

            Tyler gaped at him, eyes wide. Josh just pulled a bit harder, increasing Tyler’s discomfort. “Boxers briefs or regular?”

            “They’re briefs, just briefs!” Tyler insisted.

            “Bikini cut?” Josh interrogated.

            Tyler blushed, sputtering, “N-no! Just normal briefs!”

            Josh finally shoved Tyler off, letting him flop back onto the bed. Standing and regaining composure, Josh breathlessly remarked, “That’s what I thought.”

            “So?” Tyler snapped. “Why does it matter?” He shimmied up his pants, covering the exposed bit of briefs.

            Josh shook his head. “You’re so naïve.”

            “Why?”

            “I know it doesn’t make sense, but a lot of the kids around here will make fun of you for wearing briefs,” Josh informed. “I would switch to boxer briefs. That right there is an easy step to datability in Columbus.”

            “Datability?” Tyler asked.

            Josh nodded. “Yes, the grade of how likely a girl is to date you.”

            “This is stupid,” Tyler grumbled.

            Josh shrugged. “I mean if you don’t want my help, that’s fine.” He paused for effect before mentioning, “I just know for a fact that Jenna Black is into guys who wear boxers.”

            Tyler bolted upright. “Where did you hear that?”

            Josh smiled, licking his lips cockily. “That girl I was talking to? That was her sister. I’ve been acquiring background information on Ms. Black.”

            “What else does she like?” Tyler asked.

            “Guys who listen to their friends when they’re giving them valuable advice,” Josh retorted.

            Tyler frowned, mumbling nonetheless, “I’m listening.”

            A wide grin spread across Josh’s face. “Glad to see I have your attention.”


	6. Chapter 6

            “What else does she like?” Tyler demanded. “Is she into skinny dudes? Or buff guys? Artsy or sporty? Blondes or brunettes?”

            Josh held up his hands, laughing, “Take it easy, tiger. One question at a time.”

            Tyler nodded, catching his breath. After a moment of recollection, he pressed, “What kind of personalities does she like?”

            Swiping through his messages, Josh pulled up a text. “According to her sister, Jenna likes guys that are funny.”

            “Well, I’m in luck then,” Tyler said, straightening his collar.

            “On what planet?” Josh sneered.

            Tyler’s eyes widened as he insisted, “I’m funny!”

            “Sure thing,” Josh mumbled sarcastically.

            Tyler stood, persisting, “No, no, I really am! I’m hilarious!” He grabbed Josh by the arm, ordering, “Say ‘knock knock.’”

            “I’d rather not,” Josh retorted, pushing Tyler off of him. “Now will you shut up and listen to what I have to say?”

            Tyler finally sat back down, nodding. “Sure, go ahead.”

            Josh cleared his throat, asking, “You know anything about kissing, Tyler? Or like…” This time he was the one to redden as he gestured blankly. “You know?”

            “Um, I dunno,” Tyler admitted. He shrugged, deciding, “I guess it depends on what there all is. Maybe there’s stuff I don’t know about; I’m not sure.”

            “Well, there’s not a lot to kissing,” Josh informed. “I mean, you kinda just do what feels right in the moment, you know?”

            “Is that all that girls do?” Tyler asked.

            “What do you mean?”

            Tyler blushed a little, continuing, “Like, if I got with a girl, and she was really into me, would she like… um…” Tyler fumbled with his hands, staring down into his open palms. “That’s as far as she’d want to go, right?”

            Josh bit his lip, answering, “I don’t know. Depends on the girl.”

            “Do you think… Jenna might…” Tyler muttered. “If she’s into that stuff…”

            “I have to be brutally honest here when I say that Jenna would probably be open to it,” Josh told. “I’m not saying anything about her; you just need to know that it’s a possibility.”

            Tyler frowned. “I don’t feel good.”

            “It’ll be fine,” Josh assured. He sat next to Tyler, bringing an arm around the smaller boy. “Just like kissing, most of it will come to you.” His grin turned to a stoic expression as he added, “But don’t feel like you have to do anything, okay? You can always say no.”

            “Okay,” Tyler sighed. “That makes me feel a little better.”

            “Look, I’ve turned down girls tons of times,” Josh joked, “They’ll come at my door in swarms, banging it down. They’re yelling my name, yelling, ‘Josh, Josh, please fuck me!’ But of course, I remain cool and composed and tell them that I’m not interested in sex. At least, not at this juncture.”

            Tyler all but died laughing, completely forgetting about the burden of sexual pressure. “You’re funny, Josh. Maybe Jenna would go for you more than she would for me.”

            Josh chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, no. She’s not into me _at all._ ”

            “Why not? Something happen between you guys?”

            “Incompatibility, mostly,” Josh stated quietly.

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” Tyler pried.

            “We’re different breeds, Tyler,” Josh explained. “I could never moon over a girl like Jenna.” He looked down into his lap and folded his hands, murmuring, “Or, _any_ girl, for that matter.”

            Tyler’s brow creased. “Wait… so you’re…”

            “Gay, yeah,” Josh mumbled. He bit his lip, adding, “It’s whatever, man. I don’t really like to talk about it.”

            Tyler hesitated, wanting to comfort Josh, but also not wanting to drag on a conversation they were both uncomfortable with to begin with. “Hey, that’s okay. So what, you’re into guys. Who cares, right?”

            “Yeah, but…” Josh began. “I just don’t... I don’t want everyone to look at me different.”

            “I didn’t,” Tyler pointed out.

            “Well duh, but that doesn’t mean that everyone will follow suit,” Josh reasoned. “You’re a nice guy, Tyler. It’s just that a lot of the guys at our school aren’t.”

            “What do you have to lose, though? If they think of you any less, then that’s their problem,” Tyler reassures. “Just because they can’t understand doesn’t mean you have to explain. You don’t owe them anything.”

            “That’s not what I’m worried about,” Josh confessed. “Or at least, mostly not. I know that some dudes will never see me as one of them and I’ve come to accept that.”

            “Then what’s wrong?”

            Josh’s lower lip trembled, and he pulled his knees to his chest, burying his face in them. “I don’t want them to pick on me, Tyler. I don’t.”

            Tyler gazed over at him, unsure how to counter that in a positive way. “You can take them; you’re a big guy.”

            Josh shook his head, tears in his voice as he told, “No, I can’t. Not when there’s two of them or four of them or six of them.” He sobbed softly, adding, “Besides, I don’t want to fight anyone. I don’t want to hurt them.”

            Tyler pulled Josh into a hug, rubbing the kid’s back. “Hey, it’s okay.”

            Josh’s crying grew less and less sporadic until it ceased. He broke the embrace and sat up, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “I… I have to keep it a secret. I don’t have another choice.”

            Tyler nodded, agreeing, “I totally get that. It’s your business anyways, who says everyone needs to know?” Josh remained quiet, so Tyler nudged him, prompting, “Right?”

            Josh giggled, repeating, “Right.” They sat there on the bed for what felt like a long time, neither saying anything, but just enjoying the company. Finally, Josh said, “Tyler, you won’t say anything about this to anyone, right?”

            “I can keep quiet,” Tyler promised. He held his pinky in the air, hooking it with Josh’s. “I promise I won’t tell.”

            “Thanks, man,” Josh told earnestly. “You’re the only person that knows, by the way.”

            “Oh?” Tyler asked, becoming a little nervous. Josh trusted him that much? _That soon?_

            “Yeah,” Josh replied. “I uh… don’t have a lot of close friends, really.”

            “Me neither,” Tyler responded.

            That was how within a month of meeting him, Tyler became the lynch pin to Josh’s social and emotional wellbeing. It started with a tutoring of a sort, and ended with a promise, a promise that no matter what, he would keep Josh’s sexuality a secret. It couldn’t be that hard, after all, Tyler really owed it to him.


	7. Chapter 7

            Josh finally stands, wiping his eyes and continuing, “Alright, let’s keep going. Any other questions about Jenna before we move on?”

            Tyler raises his hand obediently.

            “You’re the only person here, you don’t need to… what is it, Tyler?” Josh asks.

            “After this could you um,” Tyler lowers his voice, stringing a hand through his hair as he proceeds, “Could we go somewhere where I can buy boxers?’

            Josh raises a brow quizzically, prompting Tyler to add, “I don’t like buying underwear with my mom; it’s embarrassing!”

            “You have like eight thousand brothers; why not have one of them take you?” Josh reasons.

            “They’ll make fun of me,” Tyler confides, dropping his gaze to the ground.

            “We can do that,” Josh promises. He then returns to the whiteboard, sketching out what looks like an alien to Tyler, minus the eyes.

            “What is that?” Tyler asks, squinting at the drawing.

            “It’s a vagina,” Josh answers plainly, adding finishing details on the outer lip.

            “Dude, gross!” Tyler objects. “Erase it!”

            Josh stops, pointing his uncapped marker at Tyler. “The fact that you couldn’t tell what it was concerns me.”

            Tyler stands, reaching for the eraser, which Josh holds over his head. Tyler scoffs, “Dude, really?”

            “What’s this called?” Josh asks, pointing at part of the drawing.

            “I don’t know, a vagina?” Tyler guesses, jumping for the marker.

            “Wrong! It’s a clitoris, you doofus,” Josh scolds. “I’m doubting the quality of the sexual education you got from your brothers.”

            “Well if you haven’t noticed, I’m the butt of the joke a lot,” Tyler admits, reaching helplessly for the eraser. “Either it’s too uncomfortable or they’re just fucking with me, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised either way.”

            Josh stopped Tyler, pressing a hand to the boy’s chest. “You know that’s not okay, right?”

            “It’s whatever,” Tyler murmurs, pushing Josh’s hand off of him. Instead of reaching for the eraser once more, he dodges around Josh, starting to erase the thing with his hand.

            “My art!” Josh cries, grabbing Tyler around the waist and pulling him away. Tyler fights against him, both boys laughing as Tyler scrambles to wipe away more and Josh pulls him back, a couple of fingers looped in Tyler’s belt.

            It ends up with the two falling over, sprawled out on the floor. Tyler ends up on top of Josh; their legs tangled. Tyler gazes down at Josh, who is looking flushed from all the activity, yet oddly docile. Blushing slightly, Tyler carefully removes his legs from the mess of limbs, standing. He offers Josh a hand, helping him to his feet.

            “So, we’ll call that a wrap?” Josh chuckles, straightening his crewneck.

            “Yeah,” Tyler giggles. “Let’s go to the store.”

            Josh nods, grabbing his keys off of his desk and bounding for the steps. Tyler follows, struggling to keep up as Josh all but leaps down the staircase.

            They hop into the truck, Josh fiddling with the stereo for a moment. He tells, “This song will actually tell you everything you need to know about sex.”

            “It’s educational?”

            “Very,” Josh assures, pressing play before pulling out of the driveway.

            The song starts, a dry recording of a man saying, “Well now, we call this the act of mating.”

            “It seems informative,” Tyler comments, listening intently.

            The song proceeds, “Sweat baby, sweat baby, sweat is a Texas drought.”

            Tyler shoots a quizzical look at Josh, who is just adding percussion on his steering wheel and singing along. It goes, “So put your hands down my pants and I bet you’ll feel nuts.”

            “Josh Dun!” Tyler laughs, squinting to read the song title. “What is this shit?”

            “Bloodhound Gang,” Josh calls, then singing with the recording, “You and me baby aint nothing but mammals, so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery channel.”

            “Joshua, this song is sin,” Tyler jokes, listening nonetheless.

            Josh turns it down a tad, only to ask, “So what store do you want to go to?”

            “I feel like Walmart is standard,” Tyler answers.

            With that, Josh cranks the volume once more and takes a sharp left, causing Tyler to shift in his seat.

            They reach the store, where Josh absolutely butchers his parking job. Hopping outside without a second thought, he gazes at his tires over boundary line, hissing, “Yikes.”

            “Learn how to park,” Tyler teases, getting out himself.

            “Hey, I have a license,” Josh argues. “Should I, now that’s another question.”

            The two waltz through the store some five minutes before finally making it to the underwear section, unaware of how utterly domestic they look while Josh helps Tyler with his boxers selection.

            “What’s a good brand?” Tyler asks, peering at all the options.

            Josh smirks, “Jesus, Tyler, you’re buying a pair of underwear, not a car.”

            “I just want to make sure I get my money’s worth, that’s all,” Tyler mutters, comparing price tags. “What type are you wearing right now?”

            Josh expands the front waistband of his pants, noting, “Not even wearing boxers, dude.”

            Tyler gives up on trying to look at it rationally, settling on a few different packages. Josh eyes the extra small tag, mumbling, “Jesus fucking Christ you’re tiny.”

            “Shut up!” Tyler squeaks, punching him in the arm.

            Josh takes one of the packages, noticing, “Ooh, you got gingham pattern.” Tyler swipes it back and smacks him with it, Josh still teasing, “Do you like gingham?”

            Tyler grabs Josh around the waist, wrestling with him slightly. With Josh bent over like that into Tyler, Tyler gets a pretty good look at the older boys’ grey Joe Boxers.

            “Is there a problem here?” an employee asks.

            Tyler loosens his grip, allowing Josh to slide out from beneath him and stand. Tyler pats Josh on the shoulder, assuring, “Nope, no trouble at all.”

            The teens pass the person, getting into the checkout line. Tyler pays and the two head off, listening to the same Bloodhound Gang song on the way to Tyler’s house.

            After being dropped off, Tyler starts to think how unconventional his and Josh’s friendship has been. They can’t even innocently fall over onto each other without getting all blushy, and Tyler has to admit that he had spent a good amount of time checking out Josh’s underwear in the store there.

            But then again, Tyler has never really disputed his sexuality before. He’s always assumed he likes girls, never thought otherwise. Now being around Josh all the time is really getting him thinking.

            His phone buzzes, notifying him of a text from Josh.

            Josh: so do you want to work out tomorrow? I remember you said you wanted to once school started

            Tyler: yeah sure

            Josh: a piece of advice from my own personal experience: do not wear boxers when you’re trying to run

            Tyler smiles, putting his phone away. Maybe he should call the quits on this whole sex education thing; it _is_ getting kinda strange. After all, Tyler liked Jenna, not Josh.

            At least, that’s what he keeps telling himself.


	8. Chapter 8

            Tyler wakes up the next morning with a tent under his blanket. God, he had a dream about Josh last night. _Josh,_ of all people. He’s noticing a sticky situation down below, so he does his best to shift from bed and make it to the bathroom, finding some clean clothes on the way.

            Could Tyler be attracted to guys? Surely, Josh didn’t give him the wet dream, right? It’s just a weird coincidence; maybe he had a sexier dream beforehand that he just forgot about. Or maybe he just had one of those random, unprovoked boners. Who knows? It can’t be that he’s into dudes, and even if he was, Josh would be the last of his crushes. They’re friends, that’s all. Admittedly, they do act kind of… gay, sometimes, for a lack of a better word, but then again, Tyler’s never had a best friend before. That’s what they all do, right? If girls can have pillow fights in their underwear and be straight, then Tyler can fantasize and dream about Josh all he wants without it being weird. Right?

            After such an eventful morning, he spends a lot of the day confused, so much so that when Jenna approaches him during pass time between classes, he can hardly speak. Luckily she starts the conversation, greeting, “Hey, Tyler.”

            “Hi,” Tyler responds, his voice cracking slightly. He’s suspected for some time now that he’s having one of those puberty kicks, and he really wishes it would just hurry up and get over with.

            “So Josh told me you guys are heading to my party this Friday,” Jenna tells.

            They are? “Oh, um, yeah. Yeah, of course.”

            “Can’t wait to see you there,” she says, her smile wide. “Tell Josh I said hi, will you?”

            Tyler is so psyched that she, Jenna, wants _him_ at her party! She can’t wait to see him there! It’s almost too good to be true, and he spends so long thinking about his good fortune that his response is delayed, to say the least. By that, she’s already gone when he answers, “Yeah, see you there.”

            Timing. He’s never been good at timing. Still, that giddy fluttering inside stays with him all throughout the day, and at lunch he practically talks Josh’s ear off about the whole thing.

            “You sound excited,” Josh notices. He grins, asking, “You really like her, huh?”

            Nodding vehemently, Tyler agrees, “Yeah. I hope she’s cool, is she cool?” He dips his head, complaining, “That’s the hard thing about love at first sight, what if there’s some unforeseen obstruction in our relationship? What if she doesn’t like green gummy bears?” Tyler gasps, proceeding, “What if she picks all of them out of the package and gives them to _me_ to eat, Josh? I don’t mind green gummy bears, but I just can’t do that many, I can’t!”

            Josh grabs Tyler, shaking him slightly as he laughs, “Jesus Christ, man, chill out!” He releases him once Tyler’s in a less panicked state, adding, “I think you’re psyching yourself out. Just relax, things will be fine.”

            “Y-yeah,” Tyler agrees. “They’ll be fine.”

            Boy, is an unforeseen obstacle coming.

            The two meet up with each other at Josh’s locker after school. Tyler, his gym bag clutched in one hand, asks, “So, what’s your workout routine?”

            Josh snatches some books along with his backpack, kicking his locker door shut with a swing. “I run a mile, then lift weights, then do ab workouts.”

            “Sounds intense,” Tyler admits.

            Josh shakes his head, promising, “It’s not bad; you’ll be fine.”

            They head to the locker room, which is, for the most part, vacant. There’s just a couple of guys in their letter jackets chatting in the bigger area, and even Tyler notices how Josh seems to pointedly avoid them.

            Tyler nudges the older boy, asking in a hushed voice, “Do you not like those guys?”

            Josh hesitates, “It’s just… they’re not nice, Tyler.”

            “To you?”

            “To anyone,” Josh replies, and that’s all he seems to have of the conversation. He tosses his bag down and strips off his shirt, revealing his toned stomach and shoulders. Tyler slips out of his pants, rooting in his bag for his pair of shorts that he’d brought along. Fishing them out, he pulls them on, glancing momentarily at Josh, who has his back turned in his black boxer briefs. He bends over to step into his shorts, and Tyler feels a sort of swelling down below. Turning his back on Josh, Tyler sneaks a peek down at his crotch, noticing that his problem is very, er, notable.

            Ripping off his shirt and pulling the other on, Tyler rushes past for the bathroom stall, lying, “I gotta go to the bathroom.”

            Josh doesn’t reply, or Tyler doesn’t hang around to hear it. He shuts himself in that stall and sits, bringing his shorts and underwear to his ankles. Looking at his hard cock, he starts to pump it a little, not to totally get off, but just enough to get himself to settle down.

            It takes longer than he’d think, and it’s not until he’s sure that the problem is entirely behind him that he steps out and back into the main area, where a most intimidating scene lay before him.

            Josh, back to a locker, is pressed against the metal. One of those letter jacket wearing guys is holding him there by a fistful of hair, while the other just sort of stands there and looks tough.

            “Cute new hairdo, Dun,” the boy sneers. “What, did Great Clips have a faggot discount?”

            Josh, face in blushing flames, pleads, “Let me go.”

            The guy nods, seemingly leaving before snapping, “Think fast,” and punching Josh in the gut. Josh crumples to his knees as the boys saunter off, their talking bouncing down the hallway.

            “What’s a faggot?” Tyler asks.

            Josh, from his kneeling position on the floor, slowly rises to his feet, grumbling, “Don’t worry about it.”

            Tyler follows his friend to the weight room, but Josh does not seem like himself. There’s a certain light that he has in him, but that light has since burned out. Their workout is hell; it is so miserable physically, but the cold silence only adds to the torture. Afterwards, on the drive home, Tyler asks, “Are you okay?”

            “It’s just embarrassing,” Josh mumbles, flicking his turn signal on. His fingers are tight on the steering wheel, his shoulders stiff.

            Tyler struggles to comfort him somehow, tries to think of what to say. But he can’t, in that moment; he has no idea what will make it better. “See you tomorrow, Josh.”

            Josh nods and waves, pulling out of his driveway without waiting to see Tyler make it inside. That’s odd; Josh _always_ waits for Tyler to go inside before he even puts the truck in reverse.


	9. Chapter 9

                All night, Tyler can’t help but think about what had happened with Josh in that locker room. Josh _did_ say that he didn’t have many friends, but does that mean he’s being bullied? Perhaps that was just a one-time thing; Josh seems to be well liked, enough to get himself and Tyler in on that party at Jenna’s place. Tyler is ecstatic for that night, but after what happened with Josh, the excitement subsides and is replaced by something else, something different. Pity? No, not pity. Not necessarily empathy either; while Tyler had been subjected to teasing in the past, he can’t say he has been in a school setting. Josh claimed he was merely embarrassed by the whole thing, but Tyler is almost certain that there’s more to the story.

            Tyler doesn’t sleep well that night, but he does decide to talk to Josh about the whole thing the next morning. While he’s not exactly looking forward to the conversation, he’s glad in the sense that it’ll likely alleviate Josh of some of that pain. Tyler’s been through plenty, and he knows just how much talking can help.

            He arrives early that morning as usual, just in time to get some breakfast right as it’s set out. What he doesn’t expect is for Josh to be there already, sitting at a table with some homework spread out in front of him. Tyler grabs something to eat and joins him. “Hey.”

            “Hey yourself,” Josh responds, his voice mellow and calm. His eyes are fixed down on the pages of his textbook, only darting away to copy some of the text into his own notebook. His handwriting is so sloppy that it allows him to write very quickly. Tyler supposes it’s also nice in the sense that if someone were to try to obtain information in Josh’s hand, they wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of the scribblings.

            They sit for some time while Tyler builds up the nerve to say more. They don’t have their usual silence in each other’s company, but rather an uncomfortable, nail-biting quiet. Once Tyler feels like he’s bound to snap from the palpable tension between the two, he says, “Look, do you want to talk about yesterday?”

            “What’s there to talk about?” Josh asks, not looking up.

            Great, he’s playing dumb. Tyler, growing up with some sharp witted brothers, knows all about playing coy and he’s not about to have it. “Look, you’re clearly upset about it. Why won’t you just talk about it?”

            “Because,” Josh mumbles. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

            “Josh, why do those guys hate you?” Tyler asks. When Josh doesn’t answer, Tyler grips Josh’s wrist, forcing it still from writing as he demands, “Why are you ignoring me?”

            Josh doesn’t pull his hand away, he just sits there a moment, formulating his answer. “It’s not a big deal, okay? I don’t see what’s the use talking about it.” Finally, he does withdrawal his hand, going back to writing, only furiously now.

            Tyler rolls his eyes, starting on his food now, which has probably gone cold. As if the school’s egg bake wasn’t gross enough already. He knows that Josh has more to say; he _always_ has something to say. If Tyler had his way, Josh would open up and give him a long, sappy monologue while some melancholy acoustic song plays in the background. But it seems Tyler never gets his way, and he knows that if he pushes more, it’ll just annoy Josh more, which will make him even less willing to talk about it. So instead of a long, heartfelt conversation, Tyler just kind of shovels the shitty food in his mouth while Josh is sitting there trying to hold back the tears building in his chest.

            Desperate for a change of subjects, Tyler tries to lighten the mood, mentioning, “So, Jenna said something about a party?”

            Josh perks up and nods, grinning as he tells, “I got us right in there, Ty. You will knock her off her feet.”

            Tyler bobs his head, now smiling as well. “Are you excited?”

            “Why would I be?” Josh asks. “It’s just a lame high school party, same as every other. Someone brings an aux cord and every asshole feels obligated to try and play their shitty music off their shitty phone the minute they notice, some douchebag will try and pick a fight, which will blow over, and everyone will post shade on Twitter about it the next day, and finally, everyone will drink a lot and make bad decisions.”

            Tyler stands there, mouth agape. Josh had said, like, a lot, but the main thing Tyler takes from it is, “Wait, kids will be drinking?”

            Josh nods somberly, reasoning, “It’s a high school party, what else would they do?” He gazes back down at his homework, sighing, “They always buy the cheap shit, too.”

            “You drink?” Tyler asks.

            Josh nods without looking up, replying, “If you don’t, you can be the designated driver if you don’t mind. Usually I just crash there till I sober up, but I’ll take a ride home when I can get it.”

            “Does Jenna drink?” Tyler questions. “Because I mean… if she’s drunk…then isn’t it like, wrong to… you know.”

            Josh shakes his head. “Yes, that’s wrong, and no, she doesn’t drink.”

            “Then why is there beer at her party?”

            Josh shrugs, deciding, “She wants people to come, doesn’t she?”

            “I guess,” Tyler mumbles.

            Josh’s neutral expression quickly spreads to a large smile as he teases, “What, why are you asking? Are you gonna lay the moves on her, Big T? Cop a feel? Slide right in there?”

            Tyler, blushing madly, shoves Josh, chuckling, “God, shut up!” He picks at his fingernails, remarking, “You’re so embarrassing.”

            “I bet you’re glad you have nice boxers to wear,” Josh jokes, smiling still. Finally, he stands, telling, “I gotta pay a visit to my math teacher.”

            “Why, having trouble?” Tyler asks.

            “No, don’t be stupid,” Josh replies. “He’s just really cute.”

            “Think you got a chance?” Tyler jokes.

            “Maybe,” Josh answers earnestly. He pats Tyler’s shoulder, telling, “I’ll see you later.”

            So maybe the conversation didn’t go where Tyler wanted it, but at least he and Josh are still on good terms. Perhaps it was just a rare occurrence; Tyler must admit he’s been subject to tormenting as well; hasn’t nearly everyone at some point or another? He decides to write it off as a glitch in the matrix, just a stutter in the universal regularity of time and space. It’s just a fluke, nothing more and nothing less, and Tyler’s going to disregard it to the grave, that is, unless it rears its ugly head once more.


	10. Chapter 10

Tyler and Josh resume somewhat of a routine, one that involves working out after class, followed by going to whoever's house has the least supervision that given day. That house is usually Josh's; it seems that his parents are rarely around, which is odd. If anyone Tyler knows needs supervision, it's probably, well, his brother Zack, but Josh is definitely a close second. Josh was very, erm, accident prone, with a sitcom-like tendency to exacerbate small problems in an attempt to solve them. Tyler could easily see that habit going very poorly in Josh's association with those boys in the locker room. That's the last thing Tyler wants, for Josh to be hurt. Tyler only saw that boy upset once, and it was a shit fest. The poor thing was crying because he's gay and afraid of getting picked on, and everything about the situation was so goddamn shitty that it took everything in Tyler not to cry along with him. 

Tyler doesn't want to go through that again. Moreover, he doesn't want Josh to have to be so hurt ever again. Josh is a purely selfless kind of person, one that would give an arm for someone who needed it. The problem with that is that Josh can't seem to differentiate good from bad people. He could give an arm for someone, only to have them spare a pinky. As far as Tyler sees, people like that are dirt; they don't deserve Josh's help, or anyone's for that matter. There's nothing much worse than those who don't return favors (no fellatio jokes here.) Those who take and don't give are the cancer of the world; they spread and multiply and fester and thrive while everyone else out here is looking for an antidote. The thing about those people is that they have always existed and always will; there never was and never will be a moment where the earth isn't riddled with them. Tyler remembers what his grandma used to say about keeping others warm. Tyler doesn't mind keeping others warm from time to time, but what's the point if they wouldn't do the same? To set yourself on fire for someone is bad in itself, but to realize that they poured gasoline at your feet is devastating. Almost as bad as when you see the fire extinguisher at their side, too out of reach for them to use as they watch you burn. 

Tyler thinks of himself as a giving, perhaps even self-sacrificing person, but never to the extent of Josh. Josh trusts too much; he sees the good, and only the good, in everyone. But Tyler's not that way, no, Tyler has questions, demands of intention that must be answered. He can't trust anyone as far as he can throw them, not until he gets to know them. He likes it that way; knowing exactly what he signed up for. Only, people can be deceiving. Tyler has yet to learn this hard fact of life. 

The remainder of the week is practically a tailgate to Jenna's party. Not like a cool tailgate, though, where everyone listens to music and eat and drink excessively. More like that one you were invited to in middle school. Yeah, you know the one; that kid you barely knew invited you for some sort of reason. You thought maybe your friends would be there, but they weren't, and when they painted faces, you picked a stupid design and everyone made fun of you all night. As if that wasn't enough, you didn't just feel shitty; you felt out of place. Once you don't belong one place, it seems like you won't anywhere else. Even the miserable seem to have a haven, and when you can't find yours, life seems pretty cruddy. It's a grim limbo, and Tyler spends the entirety of his week swimming in it. His stomach is constantly irked; his body hair stands on end. Everything is weird and he hates it. Kids in his English class write him off as a social mute, but he doesn't mind. After all, when they ignore, they don't think. They don't notice Tyler listening, always listening, and taking notes, too. Tyler can pull out a mountain's worth of dirt on most anyone in the school, all through these careless, drifting conversations. He thinks he'd be a really,  _really_ bad person to tick off. 

Josh isn't nearly as on edge as Tyler is, at least, he doesn't show it. During lunch, he plows through his food as absently as usual, not tasting so much as persevering. The idea to ask him how he feels about the party crosses Tyler's mind, but he chases that thing away. As kind as Josh is, he does not like to talk about his feelings, and it's up to Tyler to respect that. It's just preventing an argument, that's all. 

So, Tyler asks about the party in general. "So, when are we heading to the party?"

Wiping his fingers on a napkin, Josh thinks a bit before suggesting, "9 o'clock?" 

Tyler's eyes triple in size. "Jeez, 9?"

"Yeah, 9."

Shaking his head, Tyler murmurs, "I have a curfew, man."

"Screw curfew," Josh insists. 

"No, you don't understand," Tyler explains. "My mother would skin me. My parents aren't away all the time like yours."

Josh's jaw tightens, and Tyler gets the sense he's said something wrong. He's about to apologize when Josh pushes forward, offering, "You could stay the night at my house, if you want. Say that you're having a sleepover and not going to a party."

Tyler nods, agreeing, "Can do." 

"You excited?" Josh asks. "About the party, I mean."

Tyler's only been anticipating it for days on end. It's all a countdown; each passing moment is that much closer. "Yeah, kinda."

"Think something will happen between you and Jenna?" 

Tyler sighs, admitting, "I don't know, man."

"Well, why not?" Josh demands. 

"She is so pretty," Tyler mumbles. 

"What, and she's out of your league?" Josh sneers. 

Tyler bobs his head, "Yeah, duh."

"I think you're pretty cute. Besides Tyler, what you don't get about Jenna is that she has only dated douchebags. Like, walking trashcans." He stands and takes his tray, adding before heading off, "Nice guy like you comes around, she'll be thrilled."

Tyler can only hope Josh is right. For a dude who's gay, he seems to know, or claims to know, a lot about girls. 


	11. Chapter 11

Tyler is ready to put all of their work to the test that night. Practically everything Tyler knows about girls was hot-wired from Josh's brain to Tyler's, so God forbid Josh be misinformed. Still, Tyler trusts Josh, more so than he'll ever admit. He's not so confident in his ability to sweep Jenna off of her feet, but he's sure that he can get her to suffer through a conversation with him, at the very least. As much as Tyler likes her, he's never had an exchange with her with depth to it. They sometimes spoke while passing by in the halls, but the moments were brief and shallow, often about school. Tyler is ready for something more, something deeper. He wants to get to know her, and not because he wants to get into her pants or anything, but because he genuinely likes her. He doesn't necessarily want to wake up naked with her at his side (although this wouldn't be a bad turnout), but what he wants is to understand. He wants to know all her quirks and flaws, all her curves and dents. Everything about her is miraculous; she breathes pixie dust. Tyler would do anything just to look at her for a little longer, and even then, it wouldn't be enough. Her eyes are deep and dangerous and her smile sharp. He loves her, he thinks. He's never been in love before, but now seems like a good time to start. 

He doesn't tell Josh any of this, though. It'd be so weird to open up about these things, besides, he doubts Josh wants to hear him get all mushy and sentimental about some girl. Josh knows Tyler likes her, that's obvious, but the extent of this crush is left to the imagination. Josh doesn't know just how much Tyler cares about her. Maybe it would've changed things if he did. 

But things happen the way they do and we all have to suck it up and hope there's a reason for it all. It's something everyone knows, but no one wants to admit; because it's so much fun to blame yourself by imagining different outcomes. 

They arrive at the party just a hair past nine, much to Tyler's disgruntlement. "Won't everyone be gone by then?"

Josh, hands loose on the steering wheel, glanced over at Tyler incredulously. "It'll just be getting started, boy. Trust me on this."

So, Tyler does just that. He does the thing he likes least and has some faith in Josh, faith that by the time they get there, the place won't be emptied out. 

Josh was right; the party seems to be still reaching it's peak when the boys arrive. The two fan out, Josh searching for the keg, and some ass if he feels like it by then, and Tyler in the pursuit of his girl. 

The two don't see each other after the moment they step in. They're both there for two very different reasons, and they had an unspoken agreement to pursue those missions separately. Tyler's going to get the girl, and Josh is going to get the booze, and then maybe the toilet, trash, or side of a pavement; whatever's closest when that alcohol betrays him. 

Tyler goes upstairs in search of her, whereas Josh circles the swarming mass of bodies in search of a booze oasis. He finds it, but just as his hand is closing around a bottle, he feels a tap on the shoulder. 

Meanwhile, Tyler is trotting around upstairs, his heart racing in his chest. He's not sure what he'll say to her; that'll come in good time. He does a sweep down the hallway, followed by a peek into each room, all of which are, erm, for the most part, empty. In all of his knowledge acquired from Josh, Tyler never learned that a sock on a doorknob means "do not open." However, he learns that pretty quick when that couple screams bloody murder at him. 

Blushing from the embarrassment of the situation, he retreats downstairs, determined still to find her. She has to be downstairs, either that or in the bathroom. In either case, Tyler's willing to wait for her. 

Tyler has an utmost amount of patience for her, so much love. He would do just about anything for her, just to get her to say his name, without him having to ask. Funny how that's destroyed when he finds her frenching Josh against the keg.

Tyler doesn't think. For the first time in his life, he doesn't think; he acts. He's not concerned about whether or not he'll look stupid when he storms out, clenching his fists. He could care less about what others are thinking when he starts on his walk home, tears stinging in the corners of his eyes. 

Everything is so fuzzy. Everything is spinning and hot and heavy, and he just needs something, anything, to occupy his shaking hands. So, he does what anyone with a brain would do and pulls out his phone. 

He doesn't have wifi. Maybe if he could just play a game, check his messages, hell, lock and unlock the screen over and over, anything to keep his hands busy. He goes to his messages, and the last text he sees is one from Josh. It reads "See you in 5." That was just about a half an hour ago, when Josh was picking Tyler up. It seems so distant now; Josh and him are not the same. They probably never will be. Hands trembling, Tyler types, "Fuck you, Josh. You're just a lying, fake asshole. I can't believe you. Don't talk to me, alright?" He sends this, and seeing that it's been read in IMessage, he adds, "Go suck a dick, fucking faggot." He swallows, seeing that Josh read it. The typing icon appears, disappears, then comes back again. Finally, clear as day, Josh's meager response is "Okay."

Tyler crams his phone back into his pocket, groaning loudly. Shit, when did he start crying? He wipes his stupid eyes on his stupid sleeve as he makes his way down the street. He's being spiraled into this hell, this intense, angry fire. It burns inside him, and it feels like it'll never go away. 


	12. Chapter 12

Tyler never wants to see Josh ever again. Even if that were possible, it would not be enough; that bastard would haunt his dreams and stalk his thoughts like some kind of goddamn ghost. Everything he used to like about him, he hates now, right down to his stupid haircut. Hell, he can't believe he ever started to have feelings for Josh, if you could call them that. He's glad he never acted on liking him, hell, he'll even deny he ever glanced at him twice. All because he kissed Jenna. The girl Tyler loves, the girl who Josh said he'd help Tyler get. It's a stab in the back that just keeps tearing, right up the spine. Tyler dares Josh to take the blade towards his stomach; at least that way he can see it coming. 

Tyler lays around all weekend, hardly even leaving his room. He's stewing in his misery and hurt, making it worse in all reality, but he could care less. Sunday afternoon is particularly troublesome emotionally, and his brother Zach must be able to tell something is wrong. 

The boy creeps into Tyler's room, rapping his knuckles softly against the door frame. "Can I talk to you?"

Tyler nods from his spot in bed, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets with only his eyes and nose peeking out. "Close the door, will you?"

The order is muffled through his Star Wars comforter, but Zach must manage to hear him; the door is closed behind him. He strides over to Tyler's bed and takes a seat next to his younger brother, telling, "Hey."

"Yes?" Tyler is not really in the mood to talk at that moment, but then again, he hasn't been for the past two days. 

"Is something wrong?" Zach asks. "I mean, I'm not a huge fan of talking about these things, and I don't think you are either but... I need you to know that you can come to me if you need to, alright?" He's quiet for a moment, running his hand absently up and down a fold in Tyler's blanket. "So, do you want to talk about it?"

Tyler sighs heavily and shakes his head. "No, not really."

"Can I get a general idea?"

Bobbing his head, Tyler chooses his words carefully. "Girl trouble."

Zach's eyes mockingly widen. "You got your first period?"

Tyler rolls his eyes; apparently he hand't chosen his words carefully enough. "Something like that."

"Well listen, I'm always around if you want to talk about it," Zach offers. He stands, patting Tyler's leg through the mound of his duvet. "If she's the one causing the problem, I can always tell everyone she has crabs."

Tyler scrunches his nose. "I don't think that last part will be necessary."

Zach is out of the room already, calling, "I'm just putting it out there."

Tyler is not at all worried about what will happen at school the next day. Instead of riding with Josh like he normally does, he tags along with his brothers, one of whom spends the entire ride playing the license plate game. Tyler leaves them to go to class, rubbing his sore arm and wishing that less out of state vehicles traveled around these parts. 

So the transportation problem is solved from the get-go. The only other situation seems to be lunch. Tyler sits with Josh, and only Josh, every day. Maybe he should be thankful that Josh was his only friend; at least their fight won't dissolve an entire squad. Still, he's bitter; this is what he gets for being a good guy, right? For letting Josh teach him, walk all over him, try and "help" him. So much for that. 

Lunch is the hot button issue of the day, and Tyler seems to spend more time thinking about where he will sit than the subject of whatever class he's in. He tries to picture the lunchroom and its tables, but the kids at those tables are of particular interest. He doesn't want to sit by kids who will be assholes. On other end of the spectrum, sitting with a totally quiet table is out of the question. What he's most worried about is that the table won't let him sit there. What if they reject him so loudly that someone else overhears? What if multiple tables tell Tyler he can't sit there? He would die right there; the humiliation would be too much to bear. 

When lunch finally does come around, he decides to sit among a group of freshman boys, some of whom he recognizes from his English class. With his tray in his hands and his bag on his back, he asks them, "Is it okay if I sit here?"

The group of boys exchange glances among themselves, almost holding a silent meeting. They all seem to look up and nod, almost in unison, and Tyler gratefully takes a seat. 

"Your name's Tyler, right?" one boy asks. He has dark, stick straight hair and a friendly gleam in his eye. Tyler likes this one. 

Tyler gives a short nod. 

"Where are you from?" another inquires. This one is a brown eyed boy, with strawberry blond hair cut close to his forehead. 

"Just around Ohio," Tyler answers honestly. He's lived in the state his entire life, but that wasn't enough to make a presence. 

"What school?"

And there's the big question, the money shot, the opening act, the moment you've all been waiting for. Tyler considers lying, only briefly, before coming clean. "I was homeschooled up until high school." 

He's not sure how they'll react; nobody at this school knows this, with the exception of his siblings of course. No, not even Josh knows the truth. Even back when they were joined at the hip, Tyler never told him. Maybe he caught a clue from Tyler's socially inept behavior, but Tyler never gave any more of a hint; he couldn't risk it. He knew some of the attitudes about homeschooled kids, and the last thing he wanted was for those agendas to be projected onto him. 

Luckily, everyone at the table seems rather neutral to the subject. They exchange light conversation throughout the lunch hour when Tyler takes out his phone case, prompting one to ask, "Tyler, do you ball?"

Tyler is initially confused, but running his thumb over the back of his phone case, he remembers the basketball decal on it. "Yeah."

The ginger boy speaks up, telling, "Us and some others who play have been having some open gym practices. Mostly to prepare for the season coming up."

"But also to jack around," his friend cuts in. "Wanna join?"

Tyler nods, agreeing, "Yeah, sure! When are they?"

"We have one tomorrow and one on Thursday, right after school in the gym." The bell rings, sending the boys gathering their things to depart from each other. "We'll see you there, Tyler."

Just one day without Josh and Tyler has found a new clique, one that he's already woven into. Without thinking, he steals a peek back at his and Josh's usual shared table, to see that Josh had sat alone all period. Tyler feels bad for a split second, but his anger chases that sympathy away. Serves him right.


	13. Chapter 13

While the thought of even looking at Josh repulses Tyler, he's even more upset by the mere notion of speaking to Jenna. This is illogical, in a sense. After all, it's not like Jenna knew that Tyler had ever liked her. He and Josh are having this war, over her, and she is completely unaware. So it wouldn't be so bad to talk to her; at least she wouldn't know the extreme hostility of the situation. However, he is still not eager to offer any words her way. 

They pass by each other every now and then near their lockers, just as always, only this time, it's different. She gives a smile, he can't return it. She looks like she might want to talk, but he leaves before she can get a word out. He's avoiding her, that's for sure, but what else is he supposed to do? Ask her how Josh is doing? He has no idea if the two are an item, and a big part of him is better off not knowing at all. It's not that he doesn't care, but that he cares too much. And, with a heavy heart, he officially resigns on any antics he'd been cooking up to try and win Jenna over. It's done, that's yesterday's project. However, that doesn't change the fact that Josh had totally destroyed their friendship in cold blood. To think, all of that wreckage for a kiss. From a girl, at that. He's supposedly gay! The small, chiming devil on Tyler's shoulder speculates whether or not Josh is actually gay; maybe he made it up to throw Tyler off. Tyler waits for the angel on his other side to provide some input and balance, but it never seems to come. 

Tyler has an edge on him, a chip on his shoulder. He's not like he used to be, and for all he's concerned, it's because of a backstabbing son of a bitch named Josh Dun. 

Still, Tyler is somewhat excited to get to know this new group of boys. Mostly, he's excited for the basketball practices. Josh was never interested in basketball, so now Tyler is thankful to have some friends once he joins the season. He's sure that they'll show him the ropes, and he's glad to have them around. 

But something is off about those boys. Even in the bitter haze of his, Tyler can recognize something's wrong. There's something darker, more mean spirited in them. Tyler identifies this as an immediate red flag, but he does what any desperate, newly friendless person would do and ignores it completely. He's not like them, and he hopes he never will be, but they'll just have to do. It's not like he has a huge pool of potential pals to choose from; he's already moderately unpopular among his peers. So he finds these guys and clings to them best as he can. 

That first day of their open gym practice is quite uneventful, Tyler must admit. They all shower afterwards and Tyler gets cracked in the leg playfully by a towel, and that's the peak of excitement. More or less the same thing happens at the next one, where again, they play music, run drills, and scrimmage. Tyler finds that his dribbling is getting faster and faster and his ball work more intricate by the day. Those boys can hardly keep up with him when he goes down the court; he thinks he has a shot at point guard. 

The thing with hanging out with those guys is that for the first time, Tyler has a grasp of what it means to be popular. People just seem to look at him differently, and they certainly treat him better. He finds kids that he's been afraid of speaking to him all of the sudden. The conversations are never too deep, but the shocking part is that those kids are the ones to initiate them in the first place. 

Tyler seems to walk with this slight aura of importance around him. He's practically forgotten Josh's existence, and he doesn't even steal glances at Jenna anymore. He's losing sight of who he was at the start of the school year, but he doesn't know it's not for the better.

That is, until a certain day after practice. He'll feel bad about it for so long afterwards, but that afternoon, he wasn't considering those ramifications. No, he heads out of the gym with his squad of basketball players when no one but Josh Dun meets their path. He's coming back from the weight room, taking the same route to the boys' locker room. Who better to meet him than a bunch of jocks, jocks whose intentions have been questioned by Tyler himself. 

"Hey, Dun," one of them greets. He grips Josh by the shoulder, squeezing to the point that Josh wilts to his knees. Smirking, he then lets go, leaving a kneeling Josh rubbing his sore shoulder. 

Something about the way Josh is kneeling there brings back all the hatred, all the betrayal and hurt Tyler had felt what felt like so many nights ago. He saw an advantage to get back at Josh, in a way, and seized it. He reached over Josh's back and grabbed the white waistband of his Calvin Kleins, yanking them up his back. 

He sends each of his new buddies into hysterics as he proceeds to pull harder, making Josh fall onto his stomach. He takes advantage of this, straddling over his past friend as he finally lifts the poor boy off the ground by the underwear. Finally, when Josh starts to sob, Tyler releases him, nothing but fury inside of him. "Nice panties; baby blue is your color."

Josh rises slowly, his eyes inflamed and pinkish. His cheeks just as red as his eyes, he retreats with his head bowed as Tyler's friends continue to lose their shit laughing. 

Tyler had seen the pain and humiliation in Josh's eyes, yet he doesn't feel bad. In fact, he is the angry one, that is, until he receives a text that night. He'd deleted Josh's number as well as their past messages, but it's not hard to guess who the sender was when the message reads "you and your new friends are a bunch of douchebags. Jenna's lucky you don't like her anymore." 

Tyler does feel a twinge of regret in how poorly he'd handled that situation outside the locker room. But those feelings hadn't sunk in at that point, at least not enough to stop him from texting back "fag," shortly followed by "blow me."

To think Tyler used to be such a nice guy. 


	14. Chapter 14

Tyler recognized how poorly he handled his situation with Josh. Sure, they wouldn't have been able to kiss and make up like their children shows told them to, but it was certain that they didn't necessarily have to be at each other's throats. But there things went, from bad to worse. Tyler didn't see it coming. After all, it was proven in the past that Josh becomes very passive during the exchange of venomous texts, so Tyler wasn't expecting another response from the boy. Yet, he woke up that morning and there it was, plain and simple: I fucking hate you

A fire lit in Tyler's stomach, knowing that he'd been an asshole. Tyler isn't particularly fond of himself to begin with, so when he feels he's done wrong, the guilt sends him into a spiral of self-hate. But he doesn't need all that self-loathing before 8 a.m., so he does what a logical person would do and represses it, instead lashing out at Josh in return. Tyler replies: The feelings mutual 

As he's getting ready for school, his phone lights up yet again, signaling a new text message. No surprise, it's from Josh, but the surprise is its utter length. It reads: You really think you're all that don't you? Look, Jenna came onto me. Yeah, she came onto me. And I stopped her, but you were already gone. I figured you'd ask me about it, not fucking attack me like some kind of awful person. I would've let you know sooner, but you turned into such a dick that I got pissed off and decided to keep it to myself. Now you don't even like her. You are not a good person, Tyler Joseph. Let it be shown. 

How was he supposed to know that the kiss meant nothing? Was he really in the wrong when he made that mistake of sending those nasty texts to Josh? He was angry, and on top of that, he was scared. How many people would’ve done the same in his situation, he wondered.

Tyler broke into tears, the kind that come fat and heavy and roll down your cheeks in thick streams. He hadn't cried like that in what felt like ages. He can’t run from it; can’t dodge this bullet when it’s hitting him between the eyes. Josh had spoken the truth, and whichever way Tyler tried to twist it, Tyler was always the bad guy.

He pulled himself together after what fell like hours, and even then, it was only because his brothers were knocking on his door telling him to hurry up. So he did what he could to bring down the redness and swelling of his eyes as he finished getting ready, finally leaving for school.

The mere thought of facing Josh is enough to turn Tyler’s stomach sour. After making such a dick out of himself, there’s no way he can face him with his dignity intact. The tables have turned, now Josh is the one pissed off, and he has more reason to be than Tyler ever did.

He did his best to avoid Josh, to no avail. After all, his friends tended to be drawn to the boy, and Josh was all but on the hunt for Tyler that day. It wasn’t until lunch that the fire between the two came to an unpleasant head. Tyler wasn’t angry at that point, only sad and sorry. Josh was just the opposite; he was angrier than Tyler had ever seen him, and that in itself was enough to fuel a war. After all, these things can be one sided, and in this case, it was clear who was the conqueror and who was the conquered.

Josh went out of his way to pass by Tyler’s lunch table, complete with his friends who even Tyler could stand no longer. Josh had taken the opportunity to send a cold glare Tyler’s way, as he wasn’t much for direct conflict. However, he had no choice but to get involved when one of Tyler’s idiotic goons jeered, “Suck any good dicks lately, Dun?”

“Your mother’s,” Josh snarled in return.

Despite the complete gloominess of the situation, Tyler still found himself repressing laughter at Josh’s comeback.

“Hey, chink!” the same boy called. He stood and made his way over to Josh, shoving the boy harshly.

Josh, livid, pushed back, almost bringing the bigger teen to the ground.

Everyone in the cafeteria was on edge, from students to teachers. Kids were watching avidly, withdrawing phones for video evidence as teacher’s anticipated the first punch. After all, if the two only shoved, it was a “boys will be boys” let the two sort it out kind of situation. But once a closed fist made contact with the other teen, that was when they had no choice but to get involved.

Josh wasn’t the type to throw the first punch, in fact, he was ready to step back and leave it at that. But apparently he _was_ the type to fall to the ground after getting decked in the face.

That’s when the teaching staff separated the two, pulling Josh to his feet as the two were dragged out of the cafeteria, which was erupting with comments and cheering from fellow peers. Tyler, disgusted, dumped his food and sat in silence for the rest of the hour, the chatter between his tablemates hardly bearable.

Josh got a detention whereas the other boy got an in school suspension, or as Josh has referred to “punishment napping.” Tyler feels like such a dirtbag throughout the entire day. He wants to see Josh, not to explain himself, but to apologize. A large part of him is very aware that Josh does not want to see him remotely, but a bigger part of him knows that this is what he needs for closure. He needs to own up to what he’s done and try his best to make amends to those he’s hurt, whether or not that person wants anything to do with him.


	15. Chapter 15

            As bad as he feels, Tyler knows exactly what he has to do the moment Josh is collared away. If Josh is going to detention, fine; that’s where Tyler will be. He will show up at that library, yes, even though it faintly smells of urine at all times, and park himself right by Josh. There’s no rule against sitting with detention kids as long as you’re not a distraction, right? Even if that were true, it’s not like they keep a keen eye on attendance; it’d be easy to fly under the radar.

            Tyler’s never had detention, but the word on the street (and by street, he means hallways) is that it starts right around 3:35, just five minutes after the dismissal bell. He plans on heading up there and sorting out this whole mess, but he doesn’t know where to start. He should probably just admit he fucked up and move along; after all, who says Josh will want anything to do with him ever again, apology or not? Tyler may do all that he can to make up for what happened, but he can never take it back, and he knows this better than anyone. In fact, a big part of him is convinced that it won’t be enough, but there is a morsel of hope inside of him that by some miracle, Josh will take him back. As friends, of course. Unless he _wanted_ to be boyfriends, in which case-

            Stop, Tyler. No more of that. All of this drama started with having a love interest, and just look how it’s ending.. No more crushes, no more mooning over people out of his league and lashing out over life’s hiccups. Enough rolling with douchebags and feeling sorry for himself. No more rage, no more apathy, no more pity. He’s going to be a man and take responsibility for his actions, no matter what consequences he may face.

            He’s so, so nervous when he’s starting up those stairs. The library’s just around the corner, and he can’t get his breathing to level out. His heart is pounding against his chest as if all the sudden his ribs are too tight; his hands tremble in his pockets. He shouldn’t be so anxious; after all, what’s the worst that could happen? Well, Josh can probably kick his ass, and at this point, Tyler wouldn’t blame him for choosing to do so. Tyler just prays that things won’t end that way, but whichever way, he knows it won’t be pretty.

            When he arrives, Josh is already there.. Tyler can pick him out in a second; it’s hard to miss that fluffy mop of pink hair. Even when he wanted nothing to do with the boy, he could still see him from across a crowded room. It was hard to get away from him so little ago, and now, here he is, crawling back to him.

            Not crawling back, for the record, or at least, that’s what Tyler wants to tell himself. No, he’s just being a man for the first time in his life and accepting what he did and trying to fix it. That’s not needy in the slightest.

            Tyler does the best he can not to get all teary eyed and sappy as he sits next to Josh. He can almost feel the pricking hate coming off of his former best friend; he’s radiating pins and needles. Josh hasn’t even looked at him and already Tyler can tell he’s pissed off. Finally, gritting his teeth, Josh turns and glares at Tyler, growling lowly, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

            Tyler’s caught off guard by the harshness of soft boy’s words, but what did he expect; everything to be just fine? Tyler swallows, answers honestly, “I need to talk to you, Josh.”

            “You picked a grand place to do it,” Josh grumbles sarcastically. He gestures at the printed ‘no talking’ sign taped at the checkout desk.

            “Oh God, I’m not getting you in more trouble, am I?” Tyler asks.

            Josh shakes his head, scowling. Still, he admits, “It doesn’t start for another five minutes.”

            “Then what are you doing here?” Tyler questions.

            “Look, let’s not talk about that,” Josh orders. “Instead, why don’t we talk about how you went off your fucking rocker.”

            “Josh, I’m sorry,” Tyler apologizes sincerely. His voice gentle, he tells, “I’m so sorry you got hurt..”

            Josh narrows his eyes, insists, “It’s not enough. You don’t get it, Tyler. You’ve never been treated like that. You can dish it out, but you could never take it.”

            “Josh I’m-” Tyler begins, but Josh sticks his earbuds in and cranks the volume on his phone. The silent treatment. Tyler’s pulled that on his brothers; if they were goofing around and he got annoyed, he’d give them the cold shoulder, then they’d get all sad and apologize to him. It worked like a charm. But in this situation, Tyler had already apologized. So, what comes next?

            Silence, followed by silence, followed by, you guessed it, silence. Tyler sits there and mopes. Gosh, Tyler’s so stupid sometimes, he really thought he’d be able to patch things up? He never should have tried.

            “Whatever,” Tyler mumbles. He starts to gather his things when their supervisor walks in and plants themselves in a chair, ordering Tyler to do the same. Tyler, not even being a part of the class, groans somewhat in obeys anyways. It’s not like he has anywhere to be, after all.

            Josh has to take his earbuds out once detention officially starts, but it’s not like Tyler can talk to him then, anyway. So he just kind of sits there and stews while Josh doodles. The hour is a long one, detached from reality long. When they’re finally dismissed, Tyler turns to see that Josh is already heading out the door. Tyler scrambles for his things and follows, plowing through the doorway and down the stairs where he’d seen Josh’s head bob down.

            He reaches the bottom of the stairs just to see Josh turn a corner, and he actually starts to run, not jog, _run._ Tyler turns the corner just to run into Josh, who grabs Tyler by the front of his shirt and pulls him up against a wall.

            Josh glowers at him, shakes his head. “I’ll be okay, Tyler. Just give me some time, spare me the fake apologies, and let me move the fuck on.” He shoves Tyler away, adding, “Without you.”

            “What’s going on here, Joseph?”

            Tyler almost doesn’t respond at the mention of his last name, but he eventually turns nonetheless to see his “friend’ who’d gotten into the fight with Josh. In school suspension must get out around the same time, either that or he’s been hanging around waiting. Tyler turns to him, is trying to find the right way to break off their friendship, when he feels a gust of air whoosh down his legs.

            So, he looks down, and he quickly realizes that his pants are not where they should be. Meaning, they’re around his ankles. Tyler blushes a furious shade of red as the guy busts out into laughter, while Josh just stares at Tyler as he pulls his pants back to his hips, covering the white briefs that had been put on display. “What’d you do that for?”

            Josh grabs Tyler, brings him close so the other boy will not overhear. “Now you know what it’s like to be humiliated in front of those assholes.” Again, Josh releases him roughly, telling louder, “But it’s not the same; now is it? There’s less of them, way less. Just like the way I got treated. I can embarrass you, Tyler, I can put you on the spot.” Josh shakes his head, turning away as he tells, “But you’ll never know what it felt like, the way you talked to me.”

            Tyler stands there dumbly, watching that pink head of hair walk its way right on out the door.


	16. Chapter 16

            Tyler isn’t so sure about what to do next. It’s not like he can call Josh up that night and offer some other apology; that wouldn’t fly. At the same time, maybe leaving him alone would only make the boy angrier. There seemed to be no middle ground, just a t intersection with a dead end on either side.

        A gesture, Tyler decides. That’s what needs to be done. After all, anyone can go on about how much they miss someone or how sorry they are, but tis only after action that anyone bothers to listen. Action speaks louder than words; Tyler is going to deafen the whole damn block.

        But where does he begin? He needs something to prove that he’s sorry, something that says that while he may have been angry, Tyler is the one at fault, and he’d give anything to take it back.

        Mixtapes are always cool. Except Tyler doesn’t have any means to break out an old fashioned cassette and cram pack it with emotional songs. So he settles for a playlist on his I-Phone, leading with Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd (a song Josh has admitted he’s obsessed with), and ending with the Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot by Brand New. It wasn’t much, but it was better than the words on their own. That last song says more than Tyler ever could; if needed, he will pack up and leave Josh alone, like, forever. He doesn’t want to do that, but what he really wants is what’s best for Josh, and if that’s it, then so be it.

        So it’s a game of waiting. That time is spent preparing the mixtape, along with deciding what he will say. Is there anything he _can_ say; anything that could rebuild all of those bridges he had burnt?

        Just his luck, the waiting is cut short. Josh is absent from school the next day; Tyler notices almost immediately. Whether or not he was friends with him, he’d gotten used to seeing the pink haired bastard around. Trying to lose someone like Josh in a school like theirs was a lot like mistaking an apple for a bowling ball; it just doesn’t happen.

        So the mixtape isn’t finished, but Tyler decides that something bigger is calling him. At lunch, he sits alone, contemplating the details of what will go down this afternoon. He’ll go over to Josh’s right after class, he figures. Of course, Josh won’t want him there, and maybe Josh won’t ever want him, but at this point, Tyler doesn’t necessarily want Josh back. Sure, he wants to be friends, maybe even more than friends, but what he really _needs_ is for Josh to know that he’s sorry. What he needs is to deliver an earnest apology and to have the boy not sympathize, but understand. Josh will never know why Tyler took the course of actions he did and Tyler’s not sure either, but the least Tyler can do is ensure that Josh knows Tyler regrets it. More than that, Tyler would do anything to take it back. It’s all rotten; things won’t ever be like they were.

        Tyler’s minding his own business, sitting there all solemn like when one of those sorry excuses for a boy he used to hang out with comes toward him, gnarly clique in tow. There are missing one member; the boy who’d fought with Josh got a suspension.

        The boys sat themselves at Tyler’s vacant table, one of them demanding, “What, you’re too good to sit with us, Joseph?”

        Tyler doesn’t say anything, prompting one of the boys to kick him square in the shin from across the table. “Talk!”

        Tyler grimaces, tells through his teeth, “I need to go on my own now.”

        “Good, we didn’t want to catch your faggot disease,” one of them jeers, making the others snigger.

        Tyler rolls his eyes, and the boy who’d seen his altercation with Josh the other day must notice, because he blurts, “Joseph got roasted the other day by Dun!”

        “What do you mean?” another asks.

        Tyler begins to blush as the boy shares, “Dun pantsed him and this little fag was wearing tighty whities.”

        One of them mockingly puts a hand to his chest, standing as he croons, “Awww.” He advances towards Tyler, standing behind the boy and ramming a hand down the back of his pants. “Roast round two.”

        “Stop!” Tyler whimpers, struggling. He desperately tries to reach around himself to swat the boys hands away, or at least to hold onto his own underpants. He feels utterly helpless, degraded, even. Oh God, is this how he’d made Josh felt, that day outside in the hallway? This almost loosens his grip, and his aggressor takes that as an opportunity to grab ahold of his red boxers and yank them upwards.

        He pulls harshly a few times, almost bringing Tyler’s ass off the seat. Tyler, burning red, sits there and starts to tear up. He gives up on resisting but focuses rather on not having any tears fall; that will only make it funnier for them.

        He’s eventually released with a thump upside the head, his dignity barely intact as the group saunters off. There’s no alluring (or even discrete) way to fix a wedgie, Tyler realizes, so he faces his back to the wall as much as he can.

        That’s the low point of his day, and it came somewhat early, seeing as that was around noon. Hitting rock bottom by lunch really makes you think that the rest of the day will be just as bad, if not worse. Tyler’s convinced on his way to Josh’s house that he’s going to fail. Hell, Josh may beat the living hell out of him, and he’d have the right to. Tyler just hopes that he doesn’t get any blood on Josh’s clothes as the older boy takes care of the trash.

        Tyler, tired and sulking, knocks on the front door. He waits, raises his hand to knock again, only to have it nearly meet the chest of an older girl.

        She’d answered the door and now there she is, standing, looking perplexed, as Tyler’s fist is just inches away from her breasts. Tyler reddens like mad and shoves his hand into his pocket, stumbling over himself to explain, “I-I was going to knock again, I swear, that’s all.”

        She kind of smiles, raises her brows. “Can I help you?”

        “Can I come in?” Tyler asks. The girl’s eyebrows nearly reach her hairline, so Tyler adds, “I’m friends with Josh.” That’s a laugh.

        It’s enough to get him inside, though. She sits with him on the couch, telling, “Josh is sick, you know.”

        “Yeah, I figured,” Tyler mutters. “I want to check up on him, make sure he’s okay.”

        “How weirdly thoughtful of you,” she declares.

        “I’m sorry, who are you?” Tyler asks. “Like, I don’t mean it in a mean way but like, are you his sister?”

        She nods, cracks her gum. “Yeah, older sister. Who are you?”

        Tyler swallows. “I told you.”

        “I forgot,” she replies sarcastically. “What’s your name?”

        “Tyler Joseph,” Tyler confesses. After all, it’s not like she’ll recognize him.

        She punches him right in the thigh, his entire leg going numb. Boy, was he wrong. She knows exactly who he is.

        She withdraws, explaining, “Josh told me to do that if I ever met you. Now really, what are you doing here? Explain or I’m kicking you out; I got five inches on you, kid.”

        “I’m here to apologize!” Tyler insists, still nursing his sore leg. “Let me see Josh, let me apologize, and I’ll go; I’ll be gone.”

        She narrows her eyes, demanding, “You swear?”

        “On my mother’s grave,” Tyler agrees.

        She nods, rises, pulling up Tyler by the arm, who limps around to follow her. She pushes him towards the closed door of Josh’s room, urging, “Go on. I won’t stop you.”

        “Thank you,” Tyler tells softly. He knocks gently on the door, slowly opening it.

        Out of all the scenarios he imagined, nothing could prepare him for what was to come.


	17. Chapter 17

                Tyler has been preparing for the worst. He was so sure that Josh would hate him; he half expected the older boy to be waiting by the door with a knife. Sure, that was illogical, but Tyler tends to assume these types of things. When one’s been preparing for the apocalypse, it makes a meadow all the better.

            And boy, does Tyler stumble upon a meadow. Josh is lying in bed, not looking sick in the slightest, all sprawled out in a cutoff and a pair of red boxer briefs. He has his TV remote in one hand, a phone in the other. He immediately pauses the TV, gazing over at Tyler expectantly.

            Tyler, focused mainly on trying not to ogle the pressing bulge in the front of Josh’s underwear, blinks madly and makes actual eye contact. “I came to apologize.”

            “I know,” Josh replies.

            Tyler frowns. “You know?”

            Josh bobs his head, gesturing for Tyler to come sit by him. Tyler is still skeptical; half of him is waiting for the moment where Josh pounces on him and beats him to a pulp. But that time doesn’t seem to be coming; he’s on his bed right now, and not seeming to even be annoyed. No, Josh is looking at him with this totally neutral expression, one that Tyler was sure he’d ruined forever. Tyler, eyes glued to the floor, murmurs, “You don’t look sick.”

            “I took a mental health day,” Josh answers. He moves closer to Tyler, sharing, “I was up for so long last night, you know? Just thinking about everything. All that went down yesterday, what happened between us, and I came to a conclusion.”

            Tyler’s gaze is still fixed to the ground, so Josh brings a hand under Tyler’s jaw, bringing his head around to meet his eyes. “I forgive you, Tyler Joseph.”

            Josh drops his hand, moving closer, still. “I more than forgive you, Tyler. I did a lot of soul searching, and…” Blushing slightly, he shrugs, confessing, “I really like you. At least, I’m pretty sure I really like you.” Smiling, his eyes fall as he turns redder, asking, “Do you like me?”

            Tyler is a deer in the headlights, an egg in a frying pan, a man with a perpetual nosebleed being lowered into a tank of malnourished sharks. He must look like a total idiot sitting there with his mouth hanging open; he’s glad Josh is too embarrassed to look at him, for the moment, at least. He’s got to get himself together eventually; Josh will only look away for so long.

            But what does he say? He knows how he feels about Josh, hell, it’s taken this massive fight for him to admit that he does have a crush on him, but that’s not the issue. It’s not how he feels about Josh, but how he feels about himself. Is he gay? Bisexual? Something different? Maybe this is just temporary (a big part of Tyler hopes that, and a bigger part of him is kicking himself for thinking this way.) It’s not that he would hate to be gay for the sake of being gay. Josh is gay and that is fine. But Josh being gay doesn’t guarantee how Tyler being gay will go. Will his parents be mad? Josh’s family may not know their son is gay, but they’d have to find out if Tyler started dating him. Would they be upset? Would Tyler have two families turned against him? Hell would rain down from his brothers, he’s sure. He’s examining all the possibilities, and none of them seem favorable.

            Yet, he glances over at Josh, and all those worries go away. He just watches the boy’s lashes brush against his cheek as he gazes down. His eyes wander to each little curl in Josh’s pink hair, and everything seems okay. It doesn’t matter what’s happened or what’s about to come; he and Josh are officially okay. And to Tyler, that’s when you know that a person is special; when you can pick up where you left off.

            “So?” Josh asks. He brings a hand onto Tyler’s thigh gently. “What do you say?”

            Tyler chooses his words carefully. “I’m sorry, Josh.”

            Josh is crestfallen. He withdraws his hand, holding it in his other. “I understand. You’re straight.”

            “What?!” Tyler remarks. “Oh, God no! I was apologizing for everything!”

            “I said I forgive you!” Josh chuckles. He looks at Tyler hopefully, asking, “So, you like me?”

            Tyler laughs dumbly, totally giddy. “Yeah, I do.”

            Josh gives a sigh of relief, then punches Tyler in the arm. “Don’t scare me like that!”

            Tyler pouts, holding the spot where he’d been hit.

            “Poor baby,” Josh teases, pinching Tyler’s cheek.

            The two exchange a look, the kind where one knows exactly what the other’s thinking. It’s a look of the most intimate form of human relation, practical telepathy. In that moment, they are exactly in sync; their eyes even close at the same time. They lean in and kiss, first with closed mouths, then with gaping lips. Josh bites at Tyler’s bottom lip, tugging up on the skin. Tyler smirks, kissing back. He feels one of Josh’s hands return to his thigh and smirks even more.

            The two proceed to make out, Josh’s hands grasping and searching across Tyler’s body, grazing against his thighs, his chest, his sides. Josh runs his hands up and down Tyler’s back, lifting and lowering his shirt. The two eventually break apart, lying in a happy daze. Tyler asks, “So, are you going to school tomorrow?”

            Josh sighs, “I suppose I should.”

            Tyler is quiet, his hands resting on his stomach. He smiles to himself, thinks just how lucky he is. He knows he can never treat Josh like that again, that he has to make the boy royalty for all eternity just to make up for it. He lets him know just how grateful he is. “I missed you, man.”

            Josh peers over at him and grins, kissing the tip of his nose. He lays back, his old self. Not the fractured, clouded version of himself that had been roaming the halls for weeks. No, just good old Josh, happy and ditzy but riddled with kind thoughts and good intentions. “I missed me, too.”


	18. Chapter 18

            After the lunchroom altercation, Josh isn’t very much looking forward to going to school the next day. However, he’s glad he has Tyler to pull him through it. It’s not like Tyler can fix it or take back what happened earlier, but at least he can try to make the new days better.

            The best thing is that it feels as if everything hadn’t gone down the way it had. Tyler gets there that morning and he sits himself right next to Josh and it’s just like the way things were, perfect. What happened doesn’t matter; what matters is that they’re able to get over it.

            Tyler is elated to have him back. He didn’t realize how awful things were while he was gone, but now that he’s back, he feels as if he’s been woken up from a bad dream. That’s the best way to describe how it felt to be without his other half; it was like living a nightmare.

            Every moment with him by his side is something heaven can wait for; he’d be immortal at this rate. Tyler is unable to believe how lucky he is, and he’s blessing the forgiving nature of his boyfriend.

            When they have to go to their first class, he almost doesn’t want to leave. However, he knows that they’re presenting today in English and he has to get going. With a squeeze of interlocked hands, the two branch off in their own directions, each somewhat unwilling to part.

            Tyler is sweating bullets throughout the better chunk of his first period class. He doesn’t want to present; he’s not ready. But then again, will he ever be ready? He knows that he’ll get nervous and embarrass himself just like he always does. Not to mention, one of the boys from that squad of boys he used to run with is in that class, and he’s holding a grudge. Tyler wouldn’t be surprised if the kid was a douche to him during that class.

            Luckily, he doesn’t have to give his presentation. Not today, at least. He’ll probably end up sharing tomorrow, and he’s considering talking to the teacher to ask if he could present during guided study at the end of the day. That way, it’d just be the teacher and him. He’d probably still be anxious and act like an idiot, but at least there wouldn’t be a peer jury- I mean- audience, watching.

            He and Josh sit by each other at lunch, and Tyler is so thankful after having spent that one lunchtime alone. Still, he can’t help but notice the icy glares coming from that table, the one that he had spent far too long at. They are all staring him down; he can’t help but notice. He immediately recognizes when his phone buzzes so he picks it up, seeing that he has a text from one of them. It’s a message reading “guess u two made up” followed by a sequence of eggplant, kissy face, and raindrop emojis. Tyler must grimace reading it, because even he can hear that table erupt with laughter at his reaction. He doesn’t return their look, only jams his phone back into his pocke.t

            Josh frowns. “What’s wrong?”

            Tyler’s eyes wander over to that table, where one of the boys smiles and waves mockingly. “I’ll tell you later.”

            The two go to Josh’s house because, per usual, there is hardly anyone around the Dun household. Josh claims that he likes it, that he’s a free man, but Tyler knows that secretly, he wishes his family would be around just to have one meal together. Even if all they did was stuff their faces and make small talk; it would be better than reheating the same batch of spaghetti every night for a week and falling asleep with the TV on.

            “What was wrong at lunch?” Josh asks.

            Tyler, having completely forgot about it, now groans as he remembers. He pulls out his phone and shows Josh the text, who just shakes his head and mutters, “That’s not even clever.”

            Tyler’s phone goes away as he huffs, “Yeah, I know.”

            “It’ll be okay,” Josh assures, hugging Tyler. He plants a small kiss on Tyler’s upper cheek, right by his ear. “It’ll be alright.”

            “But what if it isn’t?” Tyler demands. Josh looks hurt, and Tyler’s expression softens. “I appreciate that you’re trying to make me feel better, but what if they get worse? What if they start picking on us, hm? It’s been established that I cannot defend myself, and you said you don’t want to hurt anyone.”  
            “Tyler!” Josh interrupts. He looks his boyfriend in the eye, assures, “Who cares, alright? We have each other, and they’re just a bunch of dumb jocks. It doesn’t matter what they think.”

            Tyler considers this, nods. “I guess you’re right. I’m probably just overthinking things.”

            “Of course you are,” Josh responds. “You’re Tyler; it’s what you do.”

            Tyler scoffs, “And what do you do, lay around and watch the X Files?”

            Josh, stoic, tells, “The truth is out there.”

            Tyler shoves Josh back onto his bed, telling, “God, you’re such a dork.”

            Josh pouts, wrapping his arms around Tyler and kissing him again. “You’re cute all the time.”

            “That’s what you think,” Tyler jokes.

            “No, seriously,” Josh insists. He looks Tyler in the eyes, strokes his cheek with his thumb before kissing him. The two seem to melt into each other; even their bodies dip to the other. Josh begins to move down Tyler’s neck, biting at his collarbone. When he does this, a small breathy gasp escapes from Tyler’s lips, making Josh smirk. Tyler threads some fingers through Josh’s hair as his boyfriend tugs down at Tyler’s collar, sucking on the newly exposed skin. Tyler whines a bit, moves Josh away for a minute, only to peel off his shirt, followed by Josh’s.

            The two end up making out for hours. They only stop when they realize that they need to eat; that they hadn’t eaten since the meal at school which is, well, gross, so they’ve hardly eaten at all. Josh is going back to his leftover Tupperware fished dinners, but Tyler insists that he cook for the two. It’s nothing fancy, just some homemade mac and cheese, but Josh is impressed. He can learn a lot of things from Tyler, he decides.

            After all, they’re just getting started.

           


	19. Chapter 19

            Tyler is not looking forward to the coming school day. Then again, isn’t that the norm? When he was little he would get excited for classes; he’d set out his outfit the night before and go to bed early and think about what he’d have for breakfast the following morning to start his day. However, that changed, right around third grade. That’s when he started staying up later, starting sleeping more in the morning. This gradual slide took its course until it came to a head his freshman year; he has to practically peel himself off of the mattress every morning.

            But this morning, he has a special reason to not want to show his face in that ugly building. It’s those boys, those mocking, taunting, jeering boys. There’s no guarantee they will do anything, hell, they may not even spare a glance, but just the possibility of them trying something is enough to make him dread the entire day.

            He rides with Josh to school that morning. He’d burned the bridge with carpooling how long ago with that nasty alliance with those boys, but after some mending, he can again claim passenger in Josh’s mangled truck, chipped paint, half broken air conditioner and all. It’s not the truck that matters; it’s the fact that he can spend more time with Josh. At this point, that’s his end goal to most things he does; to spend time with his boyfriend.

            Tyler’s never been in a relationship, so he’s determined not to let this one go to hell. Josh hasn’t opened up to Tyler about any ex boyfriends, but Tyler is almost positive that Josh, being a junior (an attractive one at that), has been with other people at some point in time.

            Tyler decides that’s something to touch on later today. Josh may not think it’s important, or he may not want to admit his past relationships, but Tyler sees it crucial that they know these things about each other. After all, if Josh knows that Tyler is some loser virgin and this is his first real relationship, isn’t Tyler inclined to know about Josh’s old flames?

            Of course, he doesn’t bring it up until after school. The two meet out in the parking lot as usual. Tyler’s running late, but luckily for him, Josh doesn’t mind waiting; he’s sitting in the afternoon breeze on the hood of his truck, paperback in hand. He’s so wrapped up in reading that he doesn’t hear Tyler arrive, so Tyler takes the liberty of creeping up on his boyfriend and clapping loudly next to his ear.

            Josh practically jumps out of his skin. Hand clutched to his chest, paperback airborne, he looks at Tyler with wide eyes and a gaping jaw. “You scared the shit out of me!”

            Hopping up next to him, Tyler tells, “That was the idea.”

            Josh punches him slightly in the arm, reaching for his novel. “Ty, I swear to God if you made me lose my page.”

            Tickling at Josh’s ribs, Tyler teases, “You’ll what?”

            Solemnly, Josh grabs Tyler’s hand, lowering it to a pin at the smaller boy’s side. Without another word, he leans in, planting a rough kiss on Tyler’s neck, but for a mere second before pulling away. He gets down from the hood, offering a hand to Tyler, who sticks out his tongue and jumps down on his own. Josh giggles, throws up his hands in defeat, muttering, “Jeesh, suit yourself.”

            The two ride to Josh’s house; Tyler’s is crawling with brothers, and not just that, but _nosy_ , investigative, curious brothers. Tyler’s not ready to come out to his family just yet; he’s heard some of the casual homophobia being tossed around between his brothers in light conversation, and if this whole liking boys thing is something they’ll make fun of him for, he doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want them to look down on him, either. He doesn’t want it to be the talk of the town, but he doesn’t want it to be some kind of forbidden topic. He needs that sweet spot in the middle, where they acknowledge and accept it, like if he was dating a girl.

            Thinking about this on the way there, Tyler asks, “Josh, are you out to your family?”

            Josh sneaks a glance before gazing back out at the road, reminding, “Remember the whole secret thing?”

            “Well, I thought that may just be applying to school,” Tyler explains.

            Shaking his head slowly, Josh answers, “No, it’s everywhere.” His eyes lower in the slightest as he confesses, “You’re the only one that knows, Tyler.”

            Tyler wants to ask why those kids called him a fag earlier in the school year, but he stops himself. He knows by now that fag is not only a homophobic slur, but to high school boys, it’s a generic insult to be tossed around to any alternative looking or acting boy. Josh, with his pink hair and nose ring, is a prime target.

            “I can say the same for you,” Tyler shares. “Nobody knows.”

            “Are you gonna tell them?” Josh asks.

            Shrugging, Tyler admits, “I kinda have to, don’t I? If I had a choice I’d say no, but I feel like I owe them at least that.”

            “I don’t believe that,” Josh mutters. “If you do, more power to you, but I don’t think that my family has any business knowing who I like to get frisky with. Like, I love my parents and sisters to death, don’t get me wrong, but I would take it to my grave if it wouldn’t make me some fucking miserable bachelor, and not by choice.”

            “If we got married I could hide in the cupboard when they come over,” Tyler jokes.

            Josh laughs, “I’m glad one of us is thinking rationally.”

            They get inside and reach Josh’s room, where they leave the door slightly ajar because, hey, nobody’s home and they just can. The two lie on Josh’s bed and start up Netflix, and before Josh tries to get any making out rolling, Tyler decides to lay it on him. Not the making out, but the relationship history prying, that is.

            “You ever been with anyone else?” Tyler asks.

            “One,” Josh answers gravely.

            Not picking up the tension in his voice, Tyler chuckles, asking, “One what? Boy, girl, three footed animal?”

            “Girl,” Josh replies, his voice oddly level.

            “Hmm,” Tyler comments.

            “Hmm.”


	20. Chapter 20

                Tyler rides with Josh to school, same as always. Not much is different that morning; Tyler brushes his teeth just like he does every other day (and of course the toothpaste is always dried onto the outside of the tube because his brothers are literal primal beings), he combs his hair exactly how he would any other day, and when Josh picks him up, the same song is playing that has been in his truck for the past week or so. Josh tends to find a song he likes and then play it until everyone around him is sick of it. Right now, the song that he listens to incessantly is “Heart Heart Head” by Meg Turner. Josh claims he loves it because the girl can scream and sound badass doing it. He also likes it because he says she has profound attachment issues and takes no shame in it.

            Despite the mundanity of the early morning, by the time Tyler gets to school, an unsettling realization plants itself in the back of his mind like some kind of weed. And not just any weed, but the kind that no matter how much you spray or pull, it not only grows again, but it spreads until the entirety of your prized garden looks like the setting of Tropic Thunder.

            This idea is a disturbing one; it’s the haunting fact setting in that those boys, yes, the same ones that hate Tyler to the core for ditching their friend group and hate his new boyfriend even more, _those_ are the boys that are likely going to be his teammates this winter. Tyler can’t imagine sharing a room with them, let alone a court. Some might tell him to suck it up, get over it, but they don’t understand the sheer intimacy that comes with having a team. Everyone has to put their heads together, has to trust each other, has to support each other when needed and let them go if necessary. There’s something very unique about being a team, a sort of feeling of unity, one that will not be reached if there are unsolvable tensions eating the group away from the inside out.

            Then again, there is no guarantee that Tyler will play with them. There are three divisions of teams based on skill level, and those are varsity, junior varsity, and junior varsity reserves. Perhaps Tyler will rank higher than those boys will. Maybe he’ll even reach varsity, although that’s doubtful; freshmen have to be rather outstanding to land that spot. He figures he has a pretty reasonable shot at junior varsity, but the problem is, they might as well. Having to cooperate effectively with those boys could very easily go south- resulting in a shitty game at the best, but a beating at the worst.

            This particular issue pressing at the forefront of Tyler’s thoughts, he knows that there are only two things that he can do about it. One is that he could suck it up, but he’s never been a fan of this route. He doesn’t believe in sucking it up; when things suck for a valid reason, you have every right to complain, and if you deliver respect and excellence, you can demand it as well, never settling. The other option is just to not go out for basketball. It’s a scary thought, ditching something that he’s so utterly passionate about over a dispute, but he knows that it is a vague possibility. He puts that choice on the furthest back burned possible, trying to come up with ways to resolve the issue rather than avoid it.

            Josh notices something is wrong with Tyler, but at the same time, Josh isn’t feeling the best himself, so for a while, he neglects to ask about it. He’s concerned about his own business, but he knows that part of being a boyfriend and caring about Tyler is to care about what the boy’s going through, whatever it may be. At lunch, Josh asks, “Something wrong, Ty?”

            Tyler nods, confessing, “Those guys are trying out for basketball, Josh. What if I end up playing with them?”

            Josh blinks slowly, trying to process the information that is actually quite obvious when you think about it. “You can’t quit; you love basketball.”

            “I know,” Tyler agrees. “But I don’t want to suffer through practice with them if they’re going to be assholes either.”

            “Maybe they won’t be,” Josh suggests. “After all, there’s only so much shit that the coach would tolerate.”

            “I’d be scared to share a locker room with them,” Tyler realizes. Setting his head in his hands, he groans, “Shit, I’m in so deep.”

            “Go to try-outs, Tyler. I have a feeling you’ll make varsity,” Josh assures.

            Through his fingers, Tyler’s whining voice comes out muffled. “What if they make varsity too?”

            “Please, those little pukes aren’t good enough to keep the benches warm,” Josh replies. Taking a bite of his food, he adds, “Besides, don’t your older brothers play ball?”

            Tyler perks up at this obvious reminder. “Oh, yeah! At least I won’t be totally alone. Besides, they would vouch for me any day.”

            “Well, there you go,” Josh tells. “Nothing to worry about.”

            “Thanks,” Tyler exhales. “I feel a lot better.” They sit quiet for a moment, then finally, Tyler asks, “Is something wrong with you? I mean, you’ve been quiet. Like, not quiet, but less loud. A normal person’s level of quiet is concerning for you. I’m concerned.”

            Josh smirks a little bit at Tyler’s rambling, answering, “You brought up some bad shit the other day.”

            Tyler’s eyes triple in size as he falls over himself apologizing, only to be cut off by Josh, who insists, “Not your fault, my bad. My own baggage.”

            “Wanna talk about it?” Tyler offers. “Unload a little?”

            Josh shakes his head, explaining, “If I think about it too much it’ll make me cry. I don’t want to do that here.”

            Tyler grasps Josh’s bouncing knee underneath the table. “After school, at your place, I get the whole story.”

            Josh looks at Tyler, almost fearfully with those brown eyes, and nods.


	21. Chapter 21

                On the way to Josh’s house, something seemed not right. It wasn’t like anything felt objectively wrong, rather, it was just that there was a certain stillness to the air, a stiffness in their bones that wasn’t normally there. Tyler felt more or less like his usual self, but Josh certainly didn’t. Josh was easy to read that way; a downside of being so upbeat and outgoing is that when you actually feel like shit, everyone can tell. Josh, usually as happy as a clam, was mopey and quiet, gazing out at the road and not even bothering to turn the radio volume up to an audible level.

                He knew what was about to come, that was for sure. He knew that he’d have to spill his guts, rehash all of the shit that had gone down with his ex-girlfriend, surely putting him on the brink of a mental breakdown, but with Tyler as an audience. He wasn’t looking forward to it in the slightest; he was dreading it in all reality. He was certain he’d cry, and that he’d cry a lot. He didn’t like to do that; to put himself out there and be vulnerable, especially after what Tyler had done to him in those past months. Who was to say that Tyler wouldn’t go down a similar path again and loathe him once more, using the very confidential information against him? Josh had forgiven Tyler for everything with Jenna and that party; it was water under the bridge. But if the current changed, who knew what could resurface.

                They arrived at Josh’s house somewhat slowly; Josh usually sped home, sometimes alarmingly fast, but today, hell, he drove _under_ the speed limit. That was unthinkable for Josh, and that’s what made Tyler know that his boyfriend was really putting this whole thing off. As difficult as it was going to be, not only for Josh, but for Tyler as well, Tyler wanted, no, needed, to know. It was going to be hard on Tyler, to hear the one he loved say those words, but it was going to be even worse for Josh. Tyler didn’t want to put him through that, but it was the only way that he could ever try to help him move past whatever that wretched girl had done to him.

                Sitting down in his bedroom, Josh closed the door, making sure that it was locked a total of three times before finally taking a seat on his bed. Tyler sat next to him, immediately taking Josh’s hands into his. Placing a soft kiss on both rows of knuckles, Tyler squeezed his hands tightly, telling gently, “Go ahead, Jay.”

                Josh took a deep breath, then starting, “Before I came to grips with the fact I was gay, I was desperate to hide it, or even try and change it. So, my freshman year, I did what a lot of straight guys my age did; I played football, wore a lot of basketball shorts, and pretty exclusively listened to either rap music or classic rock. I was really in denial about who I was. But I had a thought that was like, “Hey, do you know what straight guys do? They date straight _girls_!” And so that’s what I did; I had been talking to this girl who sat by me in math for some hard few weeks back then, and I finally decided to ask her to the homecoming dance.”

                “How’d that go?” Tyler asked.

                Josh sighed, deciding, “It was fine. I mean, we had a really good time, actually. After that, we started going steady. And that was okay. We did everything that a normal couple would; you know, we hung out, talked a lot, went on dates. It was really cool and all, but it wouldn’t change the fact that deep down, I wasn’t attracted to her. Not like that. But that didn’t seem to bother her. I’m sure that you, or, anyone with a brain, would be able to tell if I wasn’t into it. But she wouldn’t stop. We started… doing stuff, some over clothes some under and… it didn’t matter how many times I said no; she’d just call me a pussy or a faggot until I was finally guilted into doing it.” Tears had been welling in his eyes all along, but they started to fall as he proceeded, “It didn’t matter to her, however I felt. As long as she got what she wanted, that’s all that she was concerned about. I started to hate being around her; even when we weren’t in the bedroom, she’d make my life hell. We had some mutual friends that now want nothing to do with me. Everyone at school would tease me because of how “whipped” I was. They didn’t know what was going on in the sheets, but everywhere in public, she’d emasculate me. She’d talk to other guys and point out when they were hitting on her and didn’t expect me to do anything. I couldn’t; because every guy with an interest in her was a fucking linebacker that could eat my ass for breakfast, and by that point, I was so afraid of her that I didn’t dare to try to challenge anything she said or did. I got really depressed, and if I tried to come out of my shell and talk to people, she’d just make fun of me as everyone else joined in or laughed. Not only that, but whatever went on between us she didn’t mind broadcasting to her friends. All of her little clique knew everything that went on between us, and they didn’t think twice about passing that information onto others. Next thing I know, half of the school is making fun of me for crying whenever we had sex… but they didn’t understand; it wasn’t consensual.”

                Tears were falling thick and fast down his cheeks, and Tyler just then started to notice that they had been rushing down his face as well. Josh continued, “So, finally, I see a picture of her on Instagram where she’s bent over with her ass in some guy’s crotch. And that’s just it for me, you know? I text her and tell her that we need to have a talk, that it’s really serious, and you know what she does?” Tyler shook his head, but Josh’s vision was blurred to the point with tears that he couldn’t have noticed. “She goes and breaks up with me right then, over text messaging, and she lists off all of this shit about why I was a terrible boyfriend and how, quote, ‘She would’ve been a lesbian if she wanted to fuck around with a pussy.’ Me, being the dumbass I am, was really hurt, and so I texted her back really upset asking why she did this to me. I go really deep about how depressed I’d been throughout the time we were dating and I asked for an apology, just so I could get some closure.” Josh picked at his fingernails, wiped some tears with his palm. “She screenshots it all and posts it on Twitter with the caption ‘here’s your apology, faggot.’”

                “Oh, Josh,” Tyler sighed sadly. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, which was somewhat like hugging a brick wall, only this time, the boy crumbled into Tyler’s arms, clutching onto the back of his shirt as he buried his face in his shoulder.

                “Everyone was so horrible,” Josh sobbed. “That’s why… that’s why I _can’t_ come out, Tyler! I can’t go back to that! People give me enough shit as it is.”

                Tyler shushed him, rubbing his hands up and down Josh’s muscular back. “You don’t have to, babe. It’s okay.”

                And everything was okay, to an extent. Tyler had Josh and Josh had Tyler, and that whole nasty ordeal was behind him now. No matter what kind of hold that girl had on his mind, despite the massive damage it had done, Josh had nowhere to go but forward, and what better way to move on than with someone at your side.


	22. Chapter 22

          Tyler didn’t know exactly how to feel about everything Josh had told him. On one hand, he was grateful for the honesty. That and the fact that Josh’s emotional unavailability was being eaten away could send Tyler over the moon. He was proud of his boyfriend for finally opening up and talking to him, not just saying words, but really taking the time to confide in him. Josh trusted Tyler, and that meant a lot after all they had been through in that mess with Jenna. Tyler didn’t think of Jenna so often anymore, or _ever_ , for that matter. He still saw her around, sure, but he never spared more than a passing glance. Things had changed, and Tyler thought for the better.

            But with that business about Josh’s ex-girlfriend out in the open, Tyler didn’t know what to think. Honesty was good, and so was trust, but Josh had dropped a pretty big bombshell into Tyler’s lap without much notice. It didn’t change the way Tyler looked at Josh, he thought. Except it did. Whether or not this realization was conscious, Tyler finally understood why Josh tried so hard to keep everyone out. The last time he let someone in, he got hurt, so now he’s putting up walls to keep himself safe.

            So Tyler got it. He didn’t want Josh to push him away by any means, but at least he had a pretty good grasp of why he had done so in the past. Not only that, but Josh had moved past this, even if it was just for that night, long enough to tell Tyler something that he probably hadn’t told anyone before. Tyler knew intimate things about Josh; some of the boy’s most confidential secrets were told only to Tyler. Tyler knew that Josh had a lot of trust in him, and Tyler was so scared to death at the possibility of ever letting him down.

            What with Josh actually trusting him and basketball tryouts inching closer and closer, Tyler had plenty on his mind for a little while. He didn’t know what to say to Josh about the whole thing with his ex; he felt that all that needed to be said has been spoken, but at the same time, he hated knowing that Josh might still be hurting. Even if he was, what could Tyler do? That girl fucked him up, bad. Josh had been licking his wounds all this time, and Tyler could get around to that, but he could never take them away for him. Tyler didn’t want to bring it back up unless Josh did, but Josh was acting like the conversation never happened. The morning after he had told Tyler the truth, he came to school as happy as a clam, outwardly extroverted and happy, but internally dead. He always was like that; all fun and games until you actually had to sit down and talk about something serious. It was hard to get those things out of him; it always had been. The only time Josh opened up about something was about being gay and about his ex-girlfriend. Both conversations were practically wrung out of Josh; once they got going they were fine, but getting him to acknowledge these issues was like pulling teeth.

            Tyler knew how much faith Josh had put into him, and he felt it was only fair to return the favor. Josh was already aware of some of the apprehension Tyler had been experiencing towards trying out on the same team as those guys that had hounded them both, but Tyler still felt he could share more. So, that night after school in their bi-weekly Netflix appointment, Tyler spoke up. “I’m still nervous about tryouts.”

            Josh shifted enough so that he could meet Tyler’s brown eyes. “You have your brothers to protect you.”

            Tyler chuckled lightly, agreeing, “Yeah, but they won’t always be there, you know? Besides, they can’t fight all of my battles for me.”

            “You’re still going to try out, right?” Josh asked.

            Tyler bobbed his head, bringing his legs up to his chest. “Well, yeah. I love basketball. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

            Josh grinned. “Then what’s there to be nervous about?”

            He turned back to the screen. Scrubs was on at that moment, and both boys had seen the show enough to zone out as they pleased. Usually, these disruptions in attention were caused by making out, but this time, Josh was focused, or at least, seemingly focused solely on the screen. It was a distraction. From what? Anything, anything that involved emotional effort.

            “Fine, do you want to know what I’m nervous about?” Tyler scoffed. He paused, looked into Josh’s widened brown eyes. “ _Homecoming._ We’re dating, Josh. I don’t want to go alone. What are we gonna tell everyone? What will I tell my parents? My brothers? What about you, Josh? What about Abby and Ashely? Are they okay with that? Your parents? Are they the type that will disown you?”

            Josh was taken aback. “I… I haven’t thought about it.”

            “You haven’t thought about a lot of things,” Tyler grumbled. “You always check out from reality, but that strategy bites you in the ass pretty hard.”

            Biting his lip, Josh murmured, “Do you want to go to homecoming with me?” Tears began to well in his eyes, and he didn’t even try to force them back.

            Tyler softened once he saw the fat tears forming in his boyfriend’s eyes. He took Josh’s hands into his own, putting his forehead to Josh’s. “I do. I really do, Josh. But I don’t want to put you or myself in danger for that to happen.”

            Shaking his head, Josh assured, “We won’t be in danger, Tyler. There’s a lot of things going on right now that I don’t have any control over, but I can promise you that you will be safe.”

            “How can you know that?”

            Josh looked into his boyfriend’s eyes, his own solemn and fixed. “Anyone wanting to hurt you will have to tear me to shreds just to lay a finger on you.”


	23. Chapter 23

With the homecoming dilemma sorted out, Tyler has this pressing subconscious feeling that by now, he should feel better. He should be happy, grateful, unworried. After all, he's going to homecoming with a great guy (a great guy who would actually die for him), his favorite sport is just about to start, and his boyfriend is sharing things Tyler thought impossible to speak. So he has nothing to be nervous or upset about, right? That's his brain's logic. His brain's logic doesn't always agree with his heart; because it seems that these days, his heart is always hurt while his brain says he should know better. 

He's in a rather permanent state of unease, so to speak. His tryouts for basketball are today, and while he's more so excited than anxious, he still can't help but let his thoughts wander. They move to the thought of those boys trying to hurt him, and that's so potentially realistic that he's scared, like, really scared. However, it's not enough to stop him, because he marches his ass in that gym after school.

Not without stopping at the locker room to change, of course. Once he arrives in the locker room, he is greeted to the sight of several dozen boys changing. If Tyler was questioning his sexuality before, he's over it now. Nothing helps a boy come to accept the fact that he's gay like seeing a bunch of half-naked boys. Tyler just prays that he doesn't get hard as he pushes through the somewhat crowded room. He tries not to stare or even look at all; partly because he doesn't want to be weird, but also because he knows that he's dating Josh now. When moving past a boy dressed down to his Joe Boxers, Tyler's forearm brushes against the kid's back and in that moment, Tyler's afraid he'll blow his cover. "S-sorry!"

The kid just turns for a moment to give Tyler a strange look. Shit, he must not have even noticed. Tyler, feeling heat rise to his cheeks, just quickly breaks eye contact and moves to the back of the room. There, he unbuttons his shirt, replacing it with an Adidas cutoff. He trades his skinny jeans for his favorite pair of basketball shorts. He even made sure to wear what he believes to be his lucky Nike socks specifically for tryouts. He's sure he'll make Junior Varsity Reserves at the very least, but what he really wants is to play for Junior Varsity. He also wouldn't be upset if he landed a varsity spot; he just doesn't want to get his hopes up since the odds aren't very much in his favor. After all, he's just a baby freshman. There's other boys trying out who are stronger, faster, more skilled, and who have more playing experience. Tyler doesn't have the best shot in the world, but a big part of him is sure that there's a chance. If there's anything that his family has taught him that there's worth holding onto, it's that there's always a chance. 

He's rather surprised when he reaches the court and for one reason. His boyfriend is in the stands. Yeah, Josh, he's there! Sitting there in his favorite NASA t shirt with his hi top vans and mismatched socks, he just couldn't look anymore proud than he is in that moment. He waves at Tyler first thing the boy sets foot on the court, and Tyler cannot stop grinning. 

The tryouts seem to go by really fast, and to Tyler's delight, he only sees one of those boys from that nasty little crew there (and by the looks of his dribbling, he'll be lucky to make junior varsity reserves). Not only do they go by fast, but Tyler is having a great day as far as basketball goes. By the looks of it, so are his brothers. For a moment, it all seems so surreal, too good to be true almost. He wants to be pinched because things are just going way too well. Tyler does notice that when he looks to Josh's spot in the stands towards the last ten minutes, the boy is gone. He can't help but to feel a little disappointed, but he's also very grateful that Josh showed up in the first place. 

When tryouts end, all of the boys are informed that results will be posted the following Monday when practices start. Tyler is just bursting with excitement as the group departs. He wants to know the results, like, _right now._ He can't believe that he has to wait; it seems unbearable. He leaves the gym all the same, stripping off his shirt in the hallway like many of the boys on his way down to the locker room. He gathers all of his things down there, opting not to change back into his school clothing. Most of the boys don't; they're really quite hot in a school that's kept like the devil's boiler room, especially after exercising. When he's grabbing his phone, Tyler notices a text from Josh reading: meet me by the auditorium 

Tyler grins, texting in response: omw babe

Heading over there, Tyler doesn't know what's in store for him. He didn't even expect Josh to attend the tryouts; he figured the boy would've gone home. He has no idea what's coming, and it turns him on the slightest bit. He likes it when Josh is spontaneous; it only adds to the fun. 

Tyler arrives at the auditorium and when he sees what's waiting there for him, he begins to tear up on the spot. Josh is standing onstage, dressed uncharacteristically nice in a black button up and bow tie. Holding a bundle of flowers and some balloons, Josh is grinning ear to ear. The sign at his feet reads: "You and me baby, we're more than mammals. So let's do it like they do on the Lifetime channel. Homecoming?" There is also a small teddy bear holding a heart next to the sign, a single box of Reeses Pieces wedged into its arms. 

Tyler throws down everything he was carrying and runs to meet Josh. Skipping the stairs, Tyler fucking jumps up onto the stage and runs to hug Josh, who tosses the flowers to the side and haphazardly lets go of the balloons to wrap his boyfriend in a hug. Squeezing him tightly, Josh rests his chin on top of Tyler's head and does his best not to cry at that moment. Tyler is laughing into Josh's t shirt, breaking the hug slightly to beam up at Josh. "Let's go, Jay." With that, he kisses Josh, his lips partly agape in a smile. 

The two break the embrace after what was some time but only felt like moments. Josh insists on carrying Tyler's things for him so Tyler can collect the flowers, bear, and candy. They're just about ready to depart when Josh realizes, "Wait, where's the balloons?" The two look around before finding the vinyl bundle of red and black hovering towards the ceiling and laugh, leaving all the same.


	24. Chapter 24

Tyler is over the moon at Josh asking him to homecoming. It's quite the gesture, especially from a boy who's in the closet. Tyler assumes this means that Josh is coming out. After all, if Tyler goes over to the Dun's house all gussied up, his parents would be kind of thick not to catch on. Not to mention, Josh's sisters, who are more up to date on all of this LGBT business as well as having a keener ability to pick up on Josh's feelings. Josh's parents love him and all that, but nobody will understand a teenager like their peers. 

Tyler knows that if Josh is stepping out of his comfort zone in order to go to homecoming with him, Tyler should do the same. Tyler isn't only following Josh's lead, but he wants their relationship to be public. He cares about Josh and he wants people to know that. He wants to be that couple that people secretly love even though they've hardly exchanged a word with them. He wants to be relationship goals. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, he wants to pave the way for other LGBT kids at their school. If he and Josh can go public and still carry on as though nothing happened, maybe it will assure LGBT kids at their school that they'll be safe (Tyler also loves the idea of him playing point guard while having a boyfriend). 

So, Tyler is trying to come to grips about his family knowing, his brothers being of particular concern. A big part of him is scared that they'll be dicks about it, and he knows that's wrong, but he also knows that he cannot prevent it. Whatever happens will happen, and all Tyler can do is roll with it and suck up whatever goes wrong. That's why he's scared; no matter how much he plans coming out, he has zero control over what happens after. He can't choose other peoples reactions, although he wishes he could; it'd make things a hell of a lot easier. If Tyler was entirely reassured that everyone would be chill with him being gay, he wouldn't have a problem admitting it. It's just that he, like Josh, has a fear that others will ridicule him for it. Tyler's heard some of the casual homophobic language and attitudes being thrown around as if they were nothing, and that in itself is discouraging to say the least. 

He doesn't know when he's going to come out, or how, but at least he's getting there. He's accepted that it has to happen, now he's just trying to come up with a way. With that sitting in the very forefront of his mind, he's a little tense by the time he reaches home. His parents aren't home yet, neither his mom or his dad tonight. All of his brothers beat him home from tryouts; Zach has even showered already by the time Tyler's foot meets the living room carpet. He's sitting on the couch toweling his hair. Tyler sits next to him, asking, "Anyone in the shower?"

Zach nods. "Yeah, you'll have to wait for Jay."

"So, I should just wait till morning?" Tyler jokes. Jay takes the slowest showers of any of the Joseph siblings, including their sister. Jay claims it's because he has a lot of body hair and therefore much more to shave than Zach or Tyler. If Tyler received a dollar for every time he heard this excuse, he could build Jay his own personal bathroom. While Jay does grow an astonishing amount of body hair in comparison to his brothers, Tyler and Zach have their own theory. Jay masturbates in the shower, like, a  _lot._ It would explain what takes him so long. Tyler can't really blame him; after all, Jay and Zach share a room, so there is probably a very narrow window of time that he can jerk it without someone else being nearby. Tyler's grateful that he has his own room; he can touch himself whenever he feels like it. Perhaps he's taken that for advantage. Josh is the same way; a lone sibling in a house of shared rooms. Then again, all of Josh's siblings are girls. Tyler wonders if girls masturbate. It's very obvious that some must, but he wonders just what the ratio is, and how many of those girls are actually willing to admit it. 

Zach pulls him back to earth, complimenting, "You did really well today." 

"Thanks," Tyler replies. "Do you think I have a shot at varsity?"

Biting his lip as he contemplates the thought, Zach decides, "Yeah. You never know; I mean, you were one of the better point guards for sure. I bet you have some of the best ball handling on the whole team."

"Thanks, man," Tyler says. He pauses, and then asks, "How did you feel?"

Bobbing his head, Zach answers, "Pretty good. It wasn't too bad, I guess." The two sit quietly for a while, and then Zach tells, "I saw Josh there."

Zach only knew Josh from seeing the boy around the Joseph home. What with all the time they've spent together, Josh running into one of Tyler's siblings was inevitable. Tyler doesn't say anything, just nods his head. He's staring a hole in the carpet, hoping Zach will leave it at that. 

"Look, Tyler, is there something going on?" Zach frowns, explaining, "I can't stop thinking about how upset you've seemed over the past month or so. You said it was just girl trouble, but... you know you can talk to me, right? You don't have to push me away or dismiss me because you think I don't care, because I do. I might not always understand, but I can promise I will try."

Tyler looks at his brother, and he's almost in tears. "Zach... I'm gay; Josh and I are dating."

Zach pauses, and Tyler feels this horrible wave of emotion overcoming him. The pause allows for all sorts of crazy thoughts to run through Tyler's head. What with all of the thinking he's doing and all of the emotions he has built up, Tyler practically goes through the five stages of grief in the time it takes for his brother to respond. Finally, Zach speaks. "I love you, Tyler."

With that, Zach hugs him, and Tyler can feel himself start to cry as the palm of Zach's hand claps his back. Sniffling into his brother's shoulder, Tyler asks, "You're not upset?"

"No!" Zach answers. "Why would I be?" He breaks the hug, allowing Tyler to wipe his eyes and collect himself. Putting a hand on Tyler's shoulder, Zach adds, "Ty, I've always known."

Tyler frowns. "What do you mean?"

Zach shrugs, replying honestly, "I dunno, I mean... you never seemed all that interested in girls. Like, for as far as I can remember, you were really tentative about it. I could just tell something was off."

"Do you think Mom and Dad will care?" Tyler asks. "Or Jay?"

Zach shakes his head. "Tyler, they  just want you to be happy, like me. I'm happy for you; I'm glad that you have a boyfriend. That means you're more successful at playing the field than I am, and that makes me proud of you."

Tyler giggles, thanking his brother. "Thanks for the heart to heart, Zach. It means a lot." 

With that he stands, but before Tyler gets to his room, Zach calls, "Wait!" When Tyler turns around, Zach asks, "Is he taking you to homecoming?"

Tyler nods. 

"Good," Zach answers. "If he does anything to hurt you I'll break his fucking neck."


	25. Chapter 25

Knowing that the results for the basketball teams are going to be posted outside the gym doors that Monday morning, Tyler can hardly wait. He's not so much filled with nervous energy as he is excitement; he's aware that the tryouts went in his favor. Still, he knows that with his lack of seniority, he's at a disadvantage for making the varsity team. There is still a chance, and a fair one at that, but it's no guarantee. Even if he does make varsity, Tyler will have to work his tail off to get a decent amount of playing time, what with being a freshman and all. Although landing a varsity spot has reputation perks in addition to an ego stroke, he'd rather play a starting position with the junior varsity team than warm varsity benches. 

Josh is also very conscious of Tyler's anticipation. What with the younger boy talking about it on an almost bi-hourly basis, it would be hard not to be. The two hang out on Saturday, and although the results still have over a day to be posted, Josh can tell already that getting Tyler to focus on anything is next to impossible. He just has a lot on his mind, Josh figures. They're watching the Conjuring 2 for the first time, and while it isn't exactly the most dynamic plot of all cinema, it still requires some attention to understand what's going on. By the time they're halfway through the film, Tyler is bursting at the seams with questions. That would be fine and all, being an active movie viewer, but Josh is certain that almost all of Tyler's questions could be answered if he had simply paid more attention earlier in the movie. It gets on Josh's nerves a bit that Tyler keeps talking, and he's half tempted to turn the movie off. Then he sees his boyfriend's hands, wringing his fingers together in his lap, and he can't be mad. Josh knows it's not Tyler's fault. After all, there's a potentially colossal opportunity waiting for him, and Tyler's already done all he can to seize it. Josh can imagine how annoying the waiting game must be. So, he's as patient as he can be with explaining everything to his boyfriend. Later, with the end credits rolling, Josh spoke, "I know basketball means a lot to you, babe, but you should really try to relax."

Tyler sighs. "It's just so awful to wait. I know that in the big scheme of things, tryouts don't really matter all that much. I guess I'm just selfish." 

"Well, now you really have to take a step back," Josh replies. "You're not selfish, are you kidding me? Don't talk about yourself like that."

"Okay, Josh, we both know that out of the two of us, you are the self-sacrificial patron saint of kindness. How am I supposed to compete with that?" Tyler pouts. 

"Who said you have to?" Josh reasons. "We're boyfriends, Tyler, and we're totally different people. You have strengths compared to me, and I accept that. I don't try to challenge you for the sake of being on level ground, but I try to match you to improve myself. You have good traits, Tyler, and I'd like to model that. But you have to realize that sometimes people are just not the same and neither one of them is wrong for it." Josh hugs Tyler, asking, "Alright? If we were all exactly the same perfect people, life would be really fucking boring."

Tyler nods. "Look, I'm sorry. I can promise you there's no competition between us. I'm just under a lot of stress, I'm agitated, and I didn't sleep much last night, that's all."

"Lethal combo," Josh comments. 

Tyler giggles. "God damn, you are so cute. Joshua Dun, you're the cutest boy in the world."

Josh blushes and buries his face in Tyler's shoulder, his arms still around his boyfriend's frame. The two lay there for a while, feeling the body heat of one transfer to the other. They seem to match each other really well. Tyler is the kind of person that always feels like he's burning up. In contrast, Josh runs cold; his hands are like ice at almost any given moment. It just makes sense for them to be together. 

"Zach knows about us," Tyler says. 

Josh is quiet for a moment. "Well, what did he say?" 

Scrunching up his nose as he tries to recall, Tyler answers, "Some brotherly shit about how he wants me to be happy. So, he doesn't care. He doesn't think Jay will either, or Mom or Dad." 

Josh nods, remarking, "So, basically the whole Joseph family is about on board."

"I didn't tell him to say anything about it, but I also didn't tell him not to," Tyler answers. "Zachy's got a big mouth though." 

Again, there's a moment of silence, broken only by the differing patterns of their breathing. Finally, Tyler asks, "Do you think you'd ever tell your family?"

"I'd like to," Josh says. "Honestly, I would. I'm sure they wouldn't be mad or anything but..." Josh groans, further digging his face into Tyler's shoulder. "It'll just be awkward and embarrassing and I'll hate it so much."

"I can help, if you want," Tyler comforts. He pauses, then decides, "We could tell each other's parents." Josh frowns at him, so Tyler explains, "No, hear me out. We'll be real formal like; I'll go over to dinner, meet your parents and all that, and then I can ask your parents for their blessing. They'd have no reason to be mad; that's straight out of the politeness book."

"That's not a bad idea, Ty," Josh compliments. 

"I'm full of not bad ideas," Tyler says with a wink. 

"One condition though," Josh cuts in. 

"What's that?"

Josh finally resurfaces, looking into Tyler's brown eyes with his own. "I ask your parents for their blessing. I'm the older one, it's right." 

Tyler nods. "Alright, babe. However you want it." 

Josh sighs, asking, "So, when? You know if you don't give me a date, I'm going to push it off forever."

"Tuesday," Tyler decides. "The day after basketball results come back."

"Deal," Josh agrees. Holding out one hand, he offers, "Shake on it?"

"Kiss on it," Tyler smirks. With that, he leans in and places a wet kiss onto Josh's lips.


	26. Chapter 26

Tyler, a person who is usually passively resistant to waking up each morning, jumps out of bed the first time his alarm goes off that Monday. More often than not, he wallows in the smotheirng warmth of his blankets for a few minutes before slumping over to turn the alarm off. Then, if he is really tired, he will return to his bed to get an extra ten minutes of sleep before one of his brothers barges in and wakes him up. However, this morning is not one of those mornings. For the first time in a while, he has something major to look forward to. The basketball rosters are posted today, and Tyler can hardly contain his excitement as he springs out of bed. He texts Josh, “See you in ten?” With that, Tyler rushes to get dressed, trading his flannel pajama bottoms for a pair of dark skinny jeans. Shrugging into a button up, he hurries down the stairs as he struggles to button it all the way.

He finishes messing with his shirt by the time he reaches the bathroom. There, he brushes his teeth, looking at his own wide brown eyes in the mirror. Being sure to put on deodorant as well as his regular cologne, he then moves to the kitchen, where he gathers his backpack and books as he waits for Josh. Josh pulls up into the driveway silently. Tyler, busied with tying his shoes, is expecting Josh to text him that he's there like he usually does. Tyler's fumbling with his left foot's laces as he hears a knock on the door.

Quickly tying his shoes, Tyler gets up, grabbing his things. He answers the door, moderately surprised to see Josh standing there, grinning like the big dork he is. Tyler asks, “You're actually getting me instead of shooting a text?”

Josh blushes a little, then insists, “It's a big day, Tyler. I want to be supporitve.” He takes his boyfriend's hand and leads his over to the truck, where Josh rushes to open Tyler's door for him.

Tyler scoffs. “You're so fucking cute.”

Josh closes the door behind Tyler as well, then running around to the driver side, where he climbs in and buckles his seat belt. “Alright, Ty,” he murmurs. Turning up the Offspring over his auxiliary cord, Josh remarks, “Let's make like some Ninja Turtles and roll out.”

They reach the high school in their regular time. Josh is practically still pulling into his parking spot when Tyler undoes his seat belt, ready to leave the truck. “Wait!” Josh calls. He turns the truck off and gets out, hurrying over to Tyler. He holds out a hand to Tyler, still seated up high in the truck. “Proceed.”

Tyler giggles and takes Josh's hand, hopping down from the truck. The two hurry inside, Tyler working hard not to show how nervous he is. He had been filled more so with confidence and excitement throughout the weekend, but all of the sudden, he is being hit with small spurts of anxiety, as irregular as they are potent.

As they approach the gym doors, Tyler can feel his heart race in his chest. He becomes clammy, and gripping onto Josh's t shirt, he mumbles, “I dunno if I want to look.”

Josh looks at Tyler incredulously. “Ty, you've been waiting for this all weekend.”

Tyler whines, flailing his arms a little in frustration. “I'm just so nervous all of the sudden! I don't know if I can handle this...”

Josh grabs Tyler by the elbow, practically dragging him forward to the posted sheets. Tyler pushes his heels into the ground, pleading, “Just give me a minute, Josh.”

Once he finally reaches the papers, he's so afraid to look. Scanning it as quickly as he can, Tyler lets out a sigh of relief to see his name in the varsity roster, right alongside his brothers'. Tyler turns and looks at Josh, beaming. “I made varsity!”

With no one nearby, Josh lifts Tyler and swings him around in a hug, planting a small kiss on his cheek. “I'm so proud of you!” The two head in the direction of their first classes. Josh asks, “When do practices start?”

“Tomorrow,” Tyler answers.

“That's the day I'm coming over,” Josh observes. He rubs his hands together, confessing, “I'm still nervous about that. They know I'm coming over to dinner, but they literally have no idea I'm interested, or, _invested,_ in dating you. What if they flip out?”

Tyler stops, giving Josh's hand a squeeze. “Joshie, it'll be fine, I promise. They don't care about any of that stuff. They care about me and they like you and you like me. I don't see any way that it could go wrong. Okay?”

Josh nods. “Alright.”

“Are you driving me home tonight?” Tyler asks. 

“Actually, I was thinking we could go out to eat,” Josh replies. “In celebration of you making varsity. Consider it my treat.”

“Wow, that sounds great,” Tyler admits. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere nice,” Josh answers. “We'll stop by your house after school. Both of us need to get dressed up.” 

Tyler groans. “Joshua, if you are going to overspend on me I will be mad.”

“Well, then no need to be mad,” Josh resolves. “No such thing as overspending on someone who deserves every penny.”  
Tyler smirks. “You cute fucking bastard.”

The bell rings, and the two boys look at each other, their eyes wide and startled as if they'd never expected the day to begin. Parting, almost painfully, they each move on to their own separate classes. Throughout the remainder of the day, Josh is trying to work out different scenarios in his head for how the night will go. He knows that a lot of various things can take place that night, but some of the pressing fantasies at the forefront of his mind involve sex. He doesn't expect anything to happen, and if Tyler isn't ready that's fine, but he wouldn't be one to complain if anything of that sort were to happen. Meanwhile, Tyler is just so giddy that he not only is a varsity basketball team member, but that he also has an amazing boyfriend. 


	27. Chapter 27

Totally overwhelmed with all of the excitement going on in his life, Tyler finds it very difficult to pay attention in class throughout the day. Not only has he made it to the varsity team, but he and Josh are going on a date tonight. Tyler finds himself entirely giddy for the rest of the day just thinking about it. With the exception of when he was asked to homecoming, Tyler's never seen Josh all dressed up; Josh often claims that he's allergic to collared shirts. In reality, Josh just really fucking hates every aspect of dressing nice, so he settles for his Vans, skinny jeans, and t shirts. But for Tyler, he'd do anything, even if it means Googling how to tie a tie one more time. 

After classes end, Josh meets Tyler at his locker. Rapping his fingertips against the metal door of a neighboring locker, Josh asks, “How was your day?”

“Fine,” Tyler answers honestly. He closes his locker, pulling the straps of his backpack tighter as he walks with Josh out to his car. “Yours?”

“Just great,” Josh replies. “I think I have to tell my math teacher that I have a boyfriend, though. He's coming on a little strong.”

Tyler snorts. “As if, Joshie.”

Josh hangs his head, smiling still. “So, how's about I drop you off, Tyler Joseph. Then I'll drive to my house and change real quick, come back and pick you up.”

Tyler frowns. “Why can't we just grab clothes from your house and change together?” 

Shrugging, Josh answers, “I guess I thought it'd be kinda like a real date, where it's like a big reveal when we first see each other all dressed up, you know?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Tyler decides. Once they're out the school doors and a ways into the parking lot, Tyler laces his fingers with Josh's. Tyler jumps just a little, giggling, “Jeez, your hands are cold.”

“Cold hands, warm heart,” Josh replies with a smile. 

They get into his truck, and Josh drives with one hand on the wheel and one stressed across the console to intertwine with Tyler's. Leaned back in his seat, Josh remarks, “I'm so ready to eat; I am starving.”

“Dude,” Tyler says. “We just had lunch like three hours ago.”

Josh's eyes double in size. “You  _ate_ that?” 

“Well, yeah!” Tyler laughs. “I'm a growing boy, I eat what I can.”

“Um, first of all,” Josh begins. “It looked like death. Second, you are not growing, Tyler. Your mommy's lying to you.”

Tyler slugs Josh in the arm a little, making Josh pout. They pull into the Joseph's driveway, and before Tyler can hop down from his seat, Josh tells, “Tyler, come here.” With that, he grabs the younger boy by the front of his shirt and plants a kiss on his lips. Threading some fingers through Tyler's hair, Josh eventually breaks apart, smiling at Tyler. “Now go change. I'll be back in about twenty minutes, alright?”

Tyler nods vehemently, stretching to kiss once more before getting down from the truck and heading inside. On his way to his room he runs into Zach, who is making a sandwich in the kitchen. “Yo, Tyler! Did you see what was for lunch today? I think my soul left my body when I looked at it, and not in a good way.”

“Totally,” Tyler says distractedly. He throws his backpack onto the couch and rushes through the kitchen, but not before Zach can grab him by the back of the shirt and pull him back. 

“Hey, hey, hey. What's the rush?” Zach asks.

Tyler's eyes dart around the room a bit, partly in search of any other family members, but also out of general discomfort. “I have to get changed.”

“Why?” Zach asks. “What you're wearing is fine.”

“I...” Tyler draws a blank, and he's desperately trying to make up some dumb excuse. 

Zach's eyes widen, and he grins as he realizes, “You have a date, don't you?”

Tyler begins to blush a little, and he stammers, “N-no!”

Zach pulls Tyler into a headlock, commenting, “You are such a bad liar!” Tyler squirms against his older sibling, who eventually lets him go, that smirk still on his face. 

“Okay, but seriously Zach, do you have any advice for me?” Tyler asks. “I've... I've never done one of these things.”

Zach answers, “It'll be fine, Ty.” Patting Tyler's arm, he assures, “Just be yourself. If he pays for you, thank him. If he gives you any compliments, accept them with grace. Ah, good table manners are always a solid idea. Cologne is good, too much is bad. Um... yeah, that's about it.” 

“Thanks,” Tyler replies earnestly.

“Good luck,” Zach responds. The two eye each other for a moment, and any playfulness to the situation is traded for pure brotherly love as they embrace each other in a tight hug. They break apart, and as Tyler leaves, Zach slaps him on the ass, calling, “Knock him dead, Tyler.”

Tyler hurries to his room, throwing off his shirt and trading it for a grey button up. He decides to keep his black skinny jeans, but with a glance into his fly, he notices that he's wearing blue briefs, which will not do. He undoes his belt and pulls his pants to his ankles, waddling over to his dresser with his legs bound together by denim. He finally steps out of the pants, slipping out of his underwear as well as he looks for a different pair. Settling on a black pair of boxer briefs, he changes into them and back into his pants, fastening his belt buckle. He roots through his dresser a few minutes before finally finding a black tie, which he ties quickly as he moves towards his mirror. He messes with his hair just a bit before spraying some cologne and walking into the cloud of it. After that, he goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and just like that, he's all ready. Snatching his phone from the counter, he runs to the living room, where he finds his single pair of dress shoes among his countless pairs of sneakers. 

Just as he's lacing them, he hears a knock on his door. He glances back excitedly to Zach, who makes a point out of setting down his sandwich and vacating the room. Tyler smiles, then turning to the door and swinging it open. 

Josh is standing there, dressed neatly in a black dress shirt, pants, shoes, and a black tie. His hair is actually combed, and he took out his nose ring just this once. He grins at his boyfriend, holding out a hand. “You look so handsome, Tyler.”

Tyler turns the slightest shade of pink as he nods, telling, “Thanks, so do you.” With that, he takes Josh's hand, and the two walk over to his truck. 

On the way there, Josh comments, “You smell so good right now. I don't know if you know that, but you do.”

Tyler chuckles, mentioning, “Yeah, I did actually take the time for cologne, just this once.” 

Josh pulls into the parking lot of a restaurant so nice Tyler's never been inside of it. Tyler's eyes are huge as he breathes, “Wow, Josh.”

Josh smiles, assuring, “Nothing is too good for you, babe.” As the two leave the truck, Josh slides a hand into the back pocket of Tyler's jeans. Tyler smirks, rocking his hips back just a little to give his boyfriend a better handful. 

Once they reach the doors, Josh withdraws his hand. The two are taken to their table, where actual free bread is taken to them, along with water that is, you guessed it, free. They don't take long to order; both opt for one of the cheaper items on the menu. 

They spend the night talking about school, music, anything. Eventually, of course, they land on the reason why they're even there that night. “When's your first game, Tyler?”

Taking a drink of his water, Tyler sets it down, answering, “Not for a while.” He reaches a hand across the table, taking Josh's into his. “You're coming over tomorrow for dinner, right?”

Josh nods. “Yeah. I'm still trying to think of what I'm going to say to your parents.”

“Don't stress about it,” Tyler admonishes. “Just speak from your heart.”

Josh nods, but then jokes, “Tyler, they wouldn't want me to talk all night.”

Exchanging a grin, they call that a wrap on that part of their date. Josh pays for it just like he promised, but Tyler tells him that he couldn't live with himself if Tyler doesn't get to at least leave a tip, which he does. The moment they're out the front door, one of Josh's hands finds its way back towards the seat of Tyler's pants, only this time, it's creeping underneath the waistband. 

Tyler's eyes scan the parking lot rapidly and he begins to blush. “Joshie...”

Josh shushes him. “It's alright, babe, no one's here.”

Tyler relaxes after that because he, too, sees nobody even nearby. Josh's hand leaves from underneath Tyler's jeans and then slides down the back of his underwear, where he cups Tyler's ass some before they make it to the truck. Josh climbs up into the driver's seat, and Tyler is just settling into his own seat when Josh is eyeing the growing erection pressing against Tyler's fly. Tyler reddens, but Josh merely raises an eyebrow, then leaning over to kiss Tyler gently. Tyler melts into the kiss, placing one hand on Josh's neck and another around his side. Josh reaches down and starts to palm Tyler through the front of his pants, and Tyler lets out a small gasp at the first contact. Josh smirks against Tyler's lips, slowing down before breaking the kiss. He shifts back into his own seat, asking, “How does my house sound?”

“That depends,” Tyler answers honestly. “Is anyone home?”

Josh shakes his head. 

“That sounds perfect,” Tyler replies with a devilish grin. 


	28. Chapter 28

Josh drives home just the slightest bit faster than what he usually would. Of course, most times he drives to his house, it's just him in the truck, and the only thing he has to look forward to is whatever sounds good on Netflix that night. But right now, he has a hot 140 pound lump of boy transferring body heat into his leather interior, and he can't wait for that boy to do the same to his bed. The two don't talk very much during the ride home; the sexual tension is almost tangible. The second Josh pulls into his driveway, the two leap out of the truck and rush to the door. Once inside, they melt into a kiss, Tyler grasping at Josh's sides and hips as Josh threads one hand into Tyler's hair and plants another down the back of his pants. Tyler grins a little and the two move towards Josh's bedroom, Tyler beginning to undo his tie. Josh is struggling with his own, and for a moment, he breaks the kiss and looks down at it. He looks at Tyler helplessly, so Tyler stops to take off Josh's tie before the two continue kissing. Josh lays back on his bed, gripping Tyler's hips and placing rough kisses down his neck. He unbuttons Tyler's shirt before working on his own. Tyler helps him out of the material before taking off his own, and they're at it again, Josh's hands clawing and searching across Tyler's lower back and sides.

Tyler can feel himself get hard, like, almost painfully so. Desperate to mitigate this, he undoes his fly and slips a hand inside, feeling himself through the thin fabric of his underwear. Josh is kissing Tyler's neck so vigorously he doesn't notice, that is, until he glances down for a brief second. He grins, breaking the kiss with Tyler just for a moment as he undoes the younger boy's belt. He slides Tyler's pants down his hips, snaking a hand around his waist and back onto his ass. With that, Josh brings down the front of Tyler's underwear, holding eye contact with the boy still. Wrapping his hand around Tyler's cock, he then goes back to kissing his neck, and Tyler is totally filled with bliss. How could he not be, what with one hand on his ass, one on his cock, and harsh kisses all around his neck and collarbones. He holds onto the front of Josh's slacks as Josh works him, bringing his thumb around the head every now and then. As Josh works, Tyler starts to remove Josh's pants, undoing his button and pulling down his zipper. An exposed “V” of red American Eagles show through the dark pants, and Tyler slips a hand inside the pocket of Josh's boxers to gain access to his cock. Josh smirks against the wet skin of Tyler's neck, but he doesn't stop. The two beat each other off and for a while, it's nothing but a race of who can make the other come first. Josh has an obvious advantage; not only is he the one kissing, but he also has full access to Tyler's ass. Tyler will have to work very hard to try to get Josh to his level, that's for sure.

Tyler brings a hand onto Josh's chest, stroking his torso. He pinches one of Josh's nipples, to which Josh whimpers a little and grinds his hips the smallest bit. Josh retaliates by smacking Tyler on the ass, and Tyler's hips begin to stutter as he feels an orgasm building up in his lower belly. He says the first words to be uttered since they've set foot in the house, and they are, “Josh, I'm going to come.”

Josh nods, bucking his hips forward a little into Tyler's touch. “Go ahead.”

With that, Tyler releases, letting out a strained moan of “Fuck” as Josh works him back to earth slowly. Josh kisses Tyler on the cheek once as he continues to pump, his caresses settling more and more as Tyler relaxes back into a rhythm. Josh must be trying to wrap it up, but Tyler's not about to be finished until Josh comes, too. After all, Tyler feels he owes him that much, what with having came all over Josh's stomach and chest. He gets off of Josh, locking eyes with the boy as he pulls his pants off. Josh is flushed and glistening with a film of sweat. Tyler sees the growing erection pushing against the pouch of Josh's boxers, and he looks Josh again in the eye as he removes those as well. Josh closes his eyes, laying back as he waits for Tyler to take him. Only, Tyler goes farther than what Josh would have guessed. Dipping down, Tyler takes the head of Josh's cock into his mouth. Bringing his tongue across it. Josh moans a little, reaching down to grab a fistful of Tyler's hair. Tyler brings his mouth up and down Josh's cock, slipping his free hand under one of Josh's thighs and clawing the skin slightly as he grips it. Josh is moaning and whining a bit the further Tyler goes, and he's wondering just how far from the edge his boyfriend is as suddenly, Josh comes. Tyler obediently swallows, partly because he doesn't want a mess, and also because he doesn't know where a trash can to spit it out is.

He lays next to Josh, exhausted. Lacing his fingers with one of Josh's hands, he presses a kiss onto Josh's cheek. “I love you, Josh.”

Josh, still slightly short of air, turns his head to look over at Tyler. He smiles, and replies, “I love you too.” With that, he wraps Tyler into a hug, and the boys spend a half hour or so spooning, Tyler's back crooked into the warmth of Josh's torso. When the time comes for Tyler to go home, he doesn't want it. Still, he gradually redresses himself, giggling slightly when Josh brings a hand across his ass as they make their way out to the driveway.


	29. Chapter 29

Tyler gets home semi-early; the clock is just approaching nine when he steps foot into the living room. His mom and dad are on the couch along with Jay. It looks like a game is on TV, but at that moment, Tyler is much too preoccupied with the night's events to care.

“Hey, tiger,” his mom says. “We missed you at dinner.”

“Sorry,” Tyler murmurs. “I went out with friends.”

“You didn't go somewhere fancy, did you?” his dad asks. “You're all dressed up.”

Tyler tugs on his collar, lying, “Ah, it was a gag.”

“Sounds fun,” Jay tells flatly. He's not buying a word of what Tyler's saying, and Tyler knows it. Nodding, Tyler mumbles, “Excuse me.”

He's almost to his room when his mom calls, “Wait, Tyler!”

Tyler stops, his skin crawling with ice. Hot needles prick the back of his neck, his mouth dries, and his heart pounds in his chest. “Yeah?”

“Congrats on varsity!”

Tyler lets out a breathy chuckle. “Thanks, mom!”

Entering his room, he kicks off his shoes and sits on his bed. Once there, he undoes his tie, tossing it to his hamper. He's unbuttoning his shirt when there's a knock on his door. Wrestling the thing off, Tyler throws it to his laundry as well. “Door's unlocked!”

Jay enters, arms folded across his chest. He kicks the door shut with one foot and leans against it, asking, “A gag, huh?”

Tyler gulps, but manages to stay surprisingly cool. “Yeah, why do you care?”

“You never make eye contact when you're lying, Tyler,” Jay informs. He moves across the room, poking at Tyler's neck. “Not to mention, I spotted those hickeys from a mile away.”

Tyler squirms away. “Jay, don't tell Mom and Dad.”

“Why shouldn't I?”

Tyler pauses, trying to come up with the right words. Finally, he rises, standing to face his brother. “Look, I'm seeing someone, alright? But they're literally coming over for dinner tomorrow to meet Mom and Dad and make it all official and whatnot. So please Jay, just let it happen, alright?”

Jay eyes Tyler warily. “You were on a date.”

Tyler groans, “Yes, but why does it matter?”

“Mom and Dad said no dating until sophomore year,” Jay shoots back.

“Dude, give me a break,” Tyler pleads. “Come on, I really like them. They're taking me to homecoming.”

Jay finally cracks a grin. “Ty, are you dating an older chick?”

An older guy, actually. “Kinda.”  
“Atta boy,” Jay replies, more impressed than frustrated all of the sudden. “Alright, I won't say anything to Mom and Dad. You just better have her over for dinner tomorrow.”

“I will,” Tyler promises.

Jay backs up, then rushing back to Tyler to grind his knuckles into some of his hickeys harshly.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Tyler yelps, pushing his older brother away. “Piss off.”

“Love you too, Tyler,” Jay laughs as he finally leaves.

Tyler sighs, sitting back down on his bed. Pulling off his pants, he hears his phone buzz in his pocket. He withdraws it to see two texts, one from Josh, and one from Zach. Josh had texted him goodnight, so Tyler returns that text before checking to see what his brother has said. Zach's text reads: Jay knows doesn't he.

Tyler types back: he knows some. He doesn't know it's a guy or that I'm gay; don't bring it up.

The icon signifying that Zach is typing appears, disappears, and reappears. Finally, one message comes loud and clear: I got your back.

The next morning, Tyler hops into Josh's truck as usual. “Morning.”

Josh leans over to kiss Tyler quickly. He smiles, responding, “Good morning, babe.”

“You will not believe what happened last night,” Tyler begins.

Josh, pulling out of the driveway, starts the boys on their commute to school. “I'm listening.”

“Jay saw my hickies,” Tyler answers. “I had to talk him out of telling Mom and Dad.”

“Yikes,” Josh hisses. “Sorry about those, by the way.”

“It's fine,” Tyler assures. “No one's really noticed except for Jay.”

“That's good,” Josh mutters. He goes into a parking spot, turning the truck off. Tyler's ready to get out, but Josh grabs him by the backpack. “So, what's gonna go down tonight?”

Tyler answers, “Well, I have practice after school. So after that I'll go home with my brothers, shower, change... and then I'll text you as soon as I'm done with all that. We'll have dinner, everything's fine and dandy, then I'll mention that you want to speak to my parents alone. I know Mom and Dad will just shoo Jay, Zach, and I away, so you'll have the floor.”

Josh sighs. “I'm so nervous.”

Tyler takes Josh's hands into his own. “You'll do great, babe. They'll love you.”

Josh nods, pulling apart. “We'll see. C'mon, let's go to class.”

All throughout the day, both boys are thinking about what will happen that night. Josh is weighing out all of the possible outcomes, meanwhile, Tyler is praying that his parents won't see the hickeys decorating his neckline. Tyler is grateful once schools ends and practice rolls around; basketball has always had a way of taking his mind off things. He's changing in the locker room when Zach comes over, asking, “Ty, you riding home with Jay and I?”

“Yeah,” Tyler answers. He takes his shirt off to change into a cutoff, and it's only once his shirt is gone that Zach notices.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa there little brother,” Zach says. He gestures at Tyler's hickeys.

Tyler rolls his eyes. “I know, they're dark.”

“Mom and Dad are going to eat you,” Zach tells solemnly.

“Jay already tried,” Tyler responds. He sits on the bench, stepping into one of his shoes and starting on the laces. “Besides, they won't eat me if they don't find out.”

“Good luck, man,” Zach says. “Godspeed.”

Tyler gives a thumbs up, masking the actual worry in his heart. Sure, he's mostly thinking about the hickeys and if his parents saw them, but only because that scenario is so much neater than some of the other predicaments that could manifest that night. It's nicer to picture his parents being a little frustrated over the bruises versus being totally enraged that their youngest son is gay. So that's what he focuses on. Luckily, as soon as practice starts, Tyler's not focusing on anything but the task at hand. For that, he's thankful. Josh isn't so lucky; he has a couple of hours to stew in his own fear and mounting apprehension. He's scared, but only because he loves Tyler so much and would die if something were to come between them.


	30. Chapter 30

After practice, Tyler rides home with his brothers. In the car, he insists, “I have to shower first.”

Both Jay and Zach audibly protest. Zach cuts in, “As _if_ , little brother. You are in no position to call the shots.”

“I have to!” Tyler insists. “Jos- My date is coming over tonight, remember?”

Zach grumbles, “Alright, fine.”

Jay asks, “Will I still get time for a shower?”

“Don't worry, Jay, Tyler's date won't cut into your precious meat-beating shower session,” Zach tells. Tyler bursts out laughing, and Jay slugs him in the arm for doing so.

Once they get home, Zach tells Tyler, “You have ten minutes. A second longer and we're breaking the door down.”

Tyler rushes to the shower, cleaning himself as quickly as he can. He springs out, wrapping a towel around his waist and opening the door. He steps out into the hallway, moving to his room somewhat slowly. Jay walks by to take his turn, one hand grabbing onto Tyler's towel and ripping it away as he passes. Tyler blushes madly, snatching the towel back and snapping it at his brother. Placing it back around his hips, Tyler barks, “Not funny!”

“Very funny!” Jay calls back before closing the bathroom door.

Once in his room, Tyler dresses himself in a pair of blue and red gingham boxers, his usual go-to black skinny jeans, and a Vans shirt. Heading towards the kitchen, he asks his mom, “Hey, is it alright if Josh comes over for supper tonight?”

“Sure thing,” his mom answers. “Just have him home by nine, alright? You need to catch up on your sleep.”

“Done,” Tyler agrees. About to retreat to his room, he stops, hugging his mom briefly before rushing back to text Josh. He says: it's on. Head over whenever you're ready; we can hang out until we have to eat.

Josh shows up not much later, dressed in black jeans and a button up. Tyler looks him up and down, remarking, “You look like you're on your way to church.”

Josh blushes, squeaking, “Shut up!” He moves past Tyler to come inside, and the two head off to his room to watch Netflix the remaining hour before dinner is served.

When that time does come, Josh tails Tyler nervously to the table. Sitting next to him, he's caught off guard when the Joseph family takes the time to say grace; he literally had a fork in his hand as Tyler's mother uttered the first words. Setting down his silverware quietly, Josh assumed the same thoughtful position that the others were holding. They each give the sign of the cross at the end of the prayer, and Josh gives a poor attempt to mimic this.

They start eating, and Tyler's dad asks, “So, Josh, are you in any sports?”

Josh shakes his head. “No, sir. I play trapset in pep band, though. I'm also in theater and speech.”

“Theater, that sounds fun!” Tyler's mom gushes. “Tyler, sweetie, why don't you try out for the play?”  
Tyler's eyes widen. As much as he admires Josh's involvement in such activities, the thought of himself attending practices and rehearsing lines makes him want to gag. “No, thank you.”

Jay is confused throughout the entire duration of the meal, but he doesn't say anything. That is, until everyone's plate is nearly clean and he demands, “Tyler, where's your date?”

Tyler chokes on his food, and Josh is just staring at Jay with wide eyes. Tyler takes a drink of water, then answering, “In the calendar.”

“Jay, did you say something about Tyler having a date?” Tyler's dad asks. Tyler begins shaking his head, but Jay only nods.

“Tyler, you know you're not supposed to date your freshman year,” Tyler's mom reminds.

“He has hickeys,” Jay mentions, bringing his glass of water to his lips. Tyler kicks him under the table, shooting a kind of “what the fuck” are you doing look.

“Tyler Robert Joseph,” his mom scolds. Tyler plants a hand behind his head, poorly covering some of the hickeys spread across his neck.

“That's it,” Tyler's dad groans. He sets his napkin down, pointing at Tyler. “You're in trouble, buster. We're having a talk.”

“Wait!” Josh interrupts. “I need to talk to you, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph.” Eyeing each of the Joseph siblings, from Jay's smirking face to Tyler's worried eyes, Josh adds, “In private.”

Tyler's dad shoots his wife a look, to which she raises a calming hand. “Boys, why don't you go outside and leave Josh and us alone for a minute.”

No one moves, so she adds, “Now.” At that, three chairs scrape as the Joseph boys stand, leaving just as they were told.

Tyler's outside with his brothers when he approaches Jay, smacking him upside the head. “What the fuck was that for?”

Jay shoves him, snapping, “You didn't bring a date, pissant.”

“You fucking idiot, Josh _was_ my date!” Tyler snarls. Tears start to build in his eyes, and they're evident in his voice as he cries, “You ruined everything!”

Tyler sits in their driveway, burying his face into his knees as he sobs, “Now I can't go to homecoming, I can't go to prom, I can't even be with him, all because you had to open your fat mouth!”

Jay softens, and seeing his brother cry, he looks at Zach for what to do. Zach shrugs, then nodding towards Tyler's huddled body. Jay finally kneels in front of his brother, assuring, “Look, Ty, I didn't mean to hurt you. I-I didn't know.” Tyler's still crying, his shoulders shaking. “I'm sorry.”

Tyler wipes his eyes, finally looking at his brother. “I don't want them to be mad, Jay.”

Jay holds open his arms for a hug, a rare gesture from the normally stoic brother. “Come here.”

Tyler obliges, burrowing his face into his brother's shoulder as Jay assures, “It'll be fine, Tyler. Everything will work out.” Tyler eventually stops crying, to which Jay suggests, “Why don't we play some basketball, take your mind off things.”

Tyler sniffles and nods, gradually rising to his feet. “We only have three players.”

Josh opens the front door, stepping out onto the porch. Zach looks over at the boy, deciding, “And now we have four.”

 


	31. Chapter 31

Tyler rushes over, hugging Josh tightly. Josh hugs Tyler back, placing one hand on the back of Tyler's head. His voice muffled into Josh's chest, Tyler asks, “How'd it go?”

Josh breaks the hugs and takes a breath. “I have their blessing.”

Tyler's face lights up. “What?!”  
Josh nods vehemently, beaming himself. “Your dad even offered me his wheels for homecoming.”

Tyler hugs Josh once more, squeezing the boy as if he were about to lose him. Finally, he breaks the hug apart, telling, “Thank God. I was so worried.”

Feeling a smack against his butt, Tyler turns around and looks down to see a basketball bouncing at his feet. Zach holds up his hands, demanding, “Are we playing, or what?”

Tyler takes Josh's hand, asking, “Up for a game?”

Josh hesitates. “I dunno, I'm not very good.”

“It's okay; you'll be on my team,” Tyler says. He heads down the porch steps and to the driveway, swiping up the ball on his way there. He dribbles it a few times, then shooting a chest pass to Jay, who catches it easily. “Shirts versus skins?”

“You and Dun are skins,” Zach tells.

Tyler pulls off his shirt, tossing it into the yard. He peers over at Josh, who undoes the first half of his buttons before yanking the shirt over his head. Putting his ab muscles on display, Zach seems to notice; he catches Tyler's eyes and lets out a low whistle. Josh doesn't notice, but that doesn't stop Tyler from blushing like crazy.

The boys play a surprisingly close game. You'd figure that Jay and Zach would have the advantage, what with both of them being basketball players, but Tyler and Josh make a rather good team. Josh must have sold himself short on his basketball skills; he's draining too many baskets for Tyler to keep up with. In fact, both sides lose track of the score.

Tyler, dribbling the ball with Jay guarding him, suggests, “How about this: here's game point.”

“Game point, you say?” Jay chuckles. Tyler goes to move around Jay, but not before Jay can catch him by the pants and bring them down to his brother's ankles. Tyler falls, sprawled out on the driveway with his boxers on display as Jay pushes to the basket. Josh, helpless as he tries to guard both boys, endures a dunk while Tyler lays there, humiliated. Wiggling his pants back up, Tyler stands, his face crimson. “Jay! Come here!”

Jay breaks the light conversation he was having with Josh and Zach and jogs over. “You called?”

“Come on, man, you're embarrassing me in front of Josh!” Tyler whines.

“Aw, what, baby Tyler can't take a little teasing?” Jay says mockingly.

“It's fine when it's just us, man, but not in front of him, alright?” Tyler pleads. “It's hard enough to present myself in an attractive light; I don't need to be humiliated over and over on top of that.”

“You know what?” Jay starts. “You're right, man. I'm sorry.”

Tyler wasn't expecting that. To have heard a single apology from Jay earlier was surprising, but this second one makes for a record.

“Hug it out?” Jay offers. Tyler's the smallest bit suspicious; Jay's hugs were even more rare than his apologies. Still, he accepted it, wrapping his arms around his brother. Just a moment into the embrace, Jay's hands find their way onto Tyler's exposed waistband of his boxers. He pulls upward, leaning back to lift Tyler off of the ground. Tyler feels heat burn in his cheeks, and he can only hope that Josh still has his back turned. To make matters worse, Jay calls, “Wedgie!”

Tyler can't help but to facepalm. Great, his brother has really sold him down the river now. Josh is surely looking, and this is only confirmed when Jay manages to get behind Tyler and continues to yank. Tyler looks at Zach and Josh helplessly, his cheeks flaming red as his hands stretch back to grab ahold of his own underwear. Jay eventually releases Tyler, but not without having stretched his boxers halfway up his back. Jay smacks Tyler harshly on the ass, telling, “Good game.”

Zach and Josh both can't help but to giggle as Tyler walks over, his boxers a bunched catastrophe up his back. Tyler mimics their laughter and rolls his eyes. Josh pokes Tyler in the tummy, giggling, “You're so red! You're like a little tomato!”

“Stop,” Tyler grumbles.

Zach heads inside, leaving the two alone. Josh hugs Tyler, kissing him. “You're such a dork, Tyler.”

Still blushing, Tyler can't hide his annoyance. “Gee, thanks.”

“No, it's so cute!” Josh insists. He looks Tyler in the eyes, adding, “You realize I would never date someone cool, right? That's not why I dated you. Yeah, you're a little bitty geek, no matter how good you are at basketball...” Josh pauses, adding, “You have a big warm heart. I love you for that, Tyler Robert Joseph.”

“Okay, that is _not_ fair,” Tyler accuses.

Josh frowns. “What?”

Tyler breaks into a grin, saying, “You know my middle name and I don't know yours!”

Josh laughs, then singing, “Tyler Robert Joseph. Tyler Robert Joseph.”

“Stop!” Tyler squeals, giggling too. “What does yours start with?”

“W,” Josh replies.

“Walter?” Tyler guesses, to which Josh replies with a shake of the head. “Wade?” Again, Josh shakes his head. “William?” At that, Josh doesn't say anything, to which Tyler laughs, realizing, “Oh, it's totally William!' He sings in response, “Joshua William Dun. Joshua William Dun.”

“Hey, Tyler,” Josh cuts in. “Stop before I get Jay back out here to give you another wedgie.”

Tyler shoves Josh just a little, and the two laugh. Tyler readjusts himself slightly, mentioning, “My mom said you have to be home by nine.”

Josh nods. “I'll see you tomorrow, babe.” Kissing Tyler, he pulls apart to head over to his truck. Tyler watches him leave, waving as his truck departs. Putting his shirt back on, Tyler heads inside, where his phone buzzes. He picks it up to see a single text from Josh reading: cute gingham boxers!!

Tyler chuckles softly, typing back: I like gingham.

The two exchange texts for the rest of the night, so Tyler doesn't really catch up on sleep like his mom wanted him to. Tyler falls asleep by the phone, and Josh goes soon after without his boy to talk to. With homecoming coming up in one short week, both of them have a lot to look forward to.


	32. Chapter 32

The homecoming dance is something that Tyler is excited for. It seems like his life is in all sorts of celebrations, from basketball, to Josh, to the dance. Everything is going his way, and he can only hope that this trend continues. However, he can't get too excited; just because he and Josh are in the clear with Tyler's parents doesn't mean that the Dun's will totally and wholeheartedly agree. Tyler wants to talk to Josh's parents just as Josh had with Tyler's, but Josh insists that it's something he has to do himself. So, Tyler asks if he can be there for it, but Josh just assures Tyler that everything will be fine with him by himself. Tyler lets him, but he's not happy about it. He's glad that Josh is taking responsibility, but at the same time, Tyler feels that he needs to start including himself as a part of Josh's family, and that will never happen if moments like these are disregarded.

Again, Tyler sets a deadline for Josh. The morning that Josh is set out on this task, Tyler sits with his boyfriend at their usual table. Tyler is halfheartedly picking at his food as Josh is filling out some of his physics homework. Tyler takes a moment to peer over at the sheet. Just looking at all those numbers makes him feel sick. Eventually, Tyler gets the courage to ask, “Why don't you want me there?”  
Josh frowns. “Come again?”

Suppressing an eye roll, Tyler makes himself be more patient than what he would like to be. “You're telling your parents today, Josh. I want to be there.”

“Why does it matter?”

Tyler takes one of Josh's hands. “I'm a big part of your life right now, Josh, and you are of mine. We need to be there for each other. I don't want you to face this all on your own. Why don't I come over to dinner, just like you did with me?”

Josh shakes his head. “You don't get it; I don't want to do this as it is. It's nerve-wracking enough to have to come face to face to them and tell them that I'm gay, but it's going to be a million times worse with you sitting there.” Tyler looks hurt, making Josh add, “It's not you, babe. It has nothing to do with you. This is just something ugly and I don't want you involved.”

“But that's why I should be, right? Isn't emotional support like part of the job description?” Tyler reasons.

“Yeah, but,” Josh pauses. He lowers his head, admitting, “It's going to be so embarrassing.”

Tyler frowns, trying to find the right words. “You have no need to be embarrassed, Josh. You know what's embarrassing? Parents who make it so that their kids are too scared to really open up and talk with them. Don't be that family; they love you, Josh. They don't care, and you shouldn't either.”

Josh nods. “Okay, you've convinced me.”

Tyler brightens. “I can be there?”

Bobbing his head, Josh adds, “You can talk to them just like I talked to yours.”

Tyler gulps. That is not really what he was planning. Still, Josh is letting him be a part of this, so he can't just say no. He feels that this is a take it or leave it kind of deal; there's no room for conditions. So, he says, “Yeah. I'll talk to them, right after dinner.”

Josh hugs him very briefly. “I love you, Tyler.”  
Tyler grins, looks at his boyfriend. “I love you too.”

All throughout rest of the school day, Tyler is trying to figure out what he might say to Josh's parents. He really wishes he could have been there when Josh and his parents had their talk; whatever they discussed would be damn helpful now. He knows that once the conversation starts, it won't be so bad. Josh's parents are nice people, and they like Tyler. It's just the glaring fact that they have no suspicion of the two dating that makes Tyler's stomach turn. He needs to find the right words, but it's hard when the only words he can articulate the way he wants are meant for someone else. Tyler has had a long history of coming off in ways he never intended and making people mad as a result, but with Josh, things are different. Tyler doesn't always know exactly how he feels, but when he does, he can put it to words perfectly, but only for Josh.

After basketball practice, Tyler finds himself sitting on the bench for some time. His shoes are untied but on his feet, and his shirt is off as he stares blankly at the strewn laces. Zach approaches him slowly, asking, “Penny for your thoughts?” He gazes at Tyler somewhat worriedly, fraternal suspicion in his brown eyes. Zach makes a gesture out of turning to gaze around the vacant locker room. Finally settling his gaze back on Tyler, he adds, “You look kinda wigged out.”

Tyler peers up at his brother, his brows furrowed and forehead creased. “Zach, I have to tell Josh's parents about everything. What am I supposed to say?”

Crouching down to meet Tyler's eye level, Zach lets out a sigh. Placing a hand on Tyler's shoulder, he looks at him. “Look, Tyler. You and Josh love each other, like, _a lot._ Enough for a guy like me to notice. The way you two look at each other is ridiculous; I can only hope to have a connection like that someday. You look at his parents and you don't let your voice waver or your gaze fall and you tell them exactly what you feel. You tell them how you feel about their son and how much he means to you, and you ask for their understanding. When they give it to you, you thank them for everything and promise that you won't let them down. You let them know that they can trust you, that you only want what makes Josh happy.”

Biting his lip, Tyler sits there stoically, running the advice through his head. His phone buzzes in his hand, snapping him out of it. Glancing down at the message, he sees that Josh is still waiting for him. He nods, clutches his phone a little tighter. Peering at his brother, he tells, “Okay. I will do that.”

“Good talk,” Zach tells. He stands, giving Tyler one more pat on the side before leaving. Tyler texts Josh back that he'll be out in a minute, then hurrying to finish getting dressed before rushing out the door.

As he climbs into the passenger side of Josh's truck, Tyler pants, “Hey. Sorry about the wait.”

“It's fine, babe,” Josh assures. He starts on the drive to his house, asking, “Are you showering at my house, then?”

Tyler's eyes widen. “Oh, I mean... I was planning on stopping at home, but...” His gaze shifts towards the window, his eyes landing on the sliding landscape to his right. “I can shower at your house; I have clean clothes and everything.”

Josh nods, mentioning, “You know nobody will be home for about half an hour.”

Tyler can feel himself grow a little in his jeans, and he perks up. “Yeah, I'll shower there, for sure.”

Once they arrive, Tyler can only thank God for how damn lucky he is that the two are home alone. After all, what's better to help momentarily take his mind off things than some quality alone time with his boyfriend? Tyler can think of no better medicine, only inferior substitutes. When they set foot onto the welcome mat, they're practically a blended blur as they move towards the bathroom, lips locked all the while.

 


	33. Chapter 33

Both Josh and Tyler are a frantic mesh of skin on skin as they disrobe. As they kiss, Tyler inches down the seat of Josh's pants, Josh taking the hint to unbutton them and tug them to his ankles. Tyler pushes a hand against the bulging front of Josh's blue Calvin Kleins, cupping him as Josh gives a breathy chuckle into Tyler's neck. Josh retaliates by smacking Tyler on the ass, making Tyler grunt a little. Tyler brings a hand down the back of Josh's underwear, but at that point, Josh is more focused on sucking his boyfriend's neck into oblivion. Tyler, remembering the hickeys that have yet to entirely fade, pulls back, only to begin planting rough kisses against Josh's neck and collarbones. He lifts Tyler's shirt up his sides, bringing it over Josh's head and tossing it to the floor. Josh brings down Tyler's pants, then working on getting Tyler's shirt off while being totally consumed by lustful bliss. Still, Josh manages, and both of the boys' underwear eventually finds itself on the floor.

They press forward to the shower, Tyler with one hand clawing around Josh's hip and the other on his ass as he relentlessly kisses Josh's neck. Meanwhile, Josh is just gripping onto Tyler's shoulders like they're all he's got, dipping his head down against Tyler's chest and moaning gently. Once the stream of water starts, the boys begin to bring back the lip to lip contact, Tyler bringing some twirling fingers around the head of Josh's cock. Josh gasps just a little, then making an effort to do the same for Tyler. The two work each other, and it's not until both have expelled fair amounts of precum that Tyler recalls the reason they're in there in the first place. Furiously working to get Josh to climax, Tyler eventually succeeds, his own shuddering orgasm following shortly after. Pulling away, Tyler moves to the shower head, beginning to wash his hair. He's rinsing as he feels a finger of Josh's trail down his chest, then stomach. It stops at his lower abs, and Josh remarks, “You have such a cute little happy trail. Do me a favor and never shave.”

Tyler smirks a little, his eyes still closed in the spray of water. He emerges from it just enough to say, “Yes, sir. Do me a favor in return?”

Josh nods vehemently. “Anything.”

“Wear Calvins all the time; they make your package look great.”

Tyler doesn't have to look to know how badly Josh is blushing, so he gives him the benefit of the doubt and doesn't bother to sneak a peek at his flaming cheeks. With Josh temporarily out of the picture, Tyler is finished cleaning himself within about six minutes. He doesn't pay exactly a ton of attention to Josh, spare the occasional glance at that body of his or for whatever expression he's making. In fact, the two were exchanging mild conversation about their days. So, naturally, Tyler is caught by surprise somewhat when he looks over to see Josh stroking himself, his thighs spread to allow some fingers through. Tyler's eyes about triple in their size. Josh's are shut; his lashes heavy and dewy against his cheek as he bites his bottom lip to suppress his various moans and groans. Tyler approaches him, placing a clenched hand on either hip of Josh's. Josh doesn't stop, only works faster. At that point, Tyler sees it in both of their best interest that he concentrate on placing the most filthy, borderline violent kisses he can on Josh's neck and chest. Working his way down, he sucks a dark hickey into the center of Josh's chest, then moving over to one nipple. Bringing the entire bud of flesh into his mouth, Tyler sucks and nibbles all so carefully with extreme deliberation and persistence. He's going to bring another orgasm out of Josh, and he's going to do it well.

Tyler continues to kiss Josh's chest, snaking a hand down his stomach. As he reaches Josh's cock, Josh's own hand moves out of the way. Two fingers find their way in Josh's mouth before they disappear back through that entry between his upper thighs. Tyler works Josh, still kissing him and grabbing his ass with a free hand. The two are vigorous and passionate for some few minutes before Josh can take no more, whimpering out some biting obscenities as the massive weight is lifted from him. Josh smiles, kissing Tyler softly, sweetly, lovingly. The two step out of the shower, each drying off.

Gazing around at his bundle of both clean clothes from school and his dirtied basketball clothes, Tyler remarks, “Huh.”

Stepping into a pair of Joe Boxers, Josh asks, “What?”

Slipping his jeans over his bare ass, Tyler admits, “I don't think I brought any extra underwear.”

He's only just buttoned the top when Josh sneaks a hand into Tyler's open fly, thrusting him just once.

Josh smirks, telling, “Easy access.” He withdraws, and Tyler zips up quickly, still unable to hide the swelling boner protesting against his zipper. He looks down at it, over at Josh, and his eyes narrow. Josh just laughs, pecking Tyler on the cheek. He ruffles his wet hair, commenting, “Fucking cutie.”

The two finish getting dressed, spending their extra time lounging around in Josh's room until dinner is ready. Tyler looks over at Josh warily, but Josh reaches and gives his hand an affirming squeeze, to which Tyler relaxes. The two reach the table in what seems like forever; it felt like the table kept getting farther and farther away. Tyler knows as he sits himself down that these upcoming moments are momentous in their relationship, and he's so desperate not to fuck it up. He wants everything to go exactly how it's supposed to, and for once, it does. They have the conversation and it's calm and smooth and objective, and by the end of the night, Tyler has a guarantee that Josh's parents approve. They're not necessarily over the moon, but then again, neither were Tyler's. He knows that both families love their sons, but it's just something that they're not used to. Yet, that is. They're not used to it _yet._ They'll come around; Tyler and Josh will make a point of being the cutest, most devoted couple in the world until they do.

 


	34. Chapter 34

When the night of the homecoming dance finally arrives, Josh is very particular about their plans for the evening. He lets Tyler know what time they will leave from the Joseph's house (Josh took up Mr. Joseph on the offer of taking his car) and even promises to bring Tyler a boutineer. The dance is on a Saturday, so Tyler sleeps in to the late hours of the morning and eats lunch before even beginning to worry about the dance. Initially, he's not worried at all. He's glad to have an opportunity to hang out with his boyfriend, even if its under the circumstance of roaring pop music and sticky air. He's excited, even, to be able to go out to his first high school dance. What he doesn't think about until he begins to get ready is other people's reactions. Sure, he was all excited about the possibility (and soon reality) of being a varsity point guard with a boyfriend, but now he is having second doubts. He's wondering about what other kids will say; what they will think. He's hoping that they will be understanding enough not to be complete assholes, but Tyler is used to setting his standards too high for others. As a result, he's often let down, and he doesn't want the general whole of his peers to let him down. He doesn't want to be ridiculed, mocked, or teased. All that Tyler wants is to belong. He wants to love and kiss and fuck whoever he pleases without being put at risk, without being ostracized for it. He wants to be looked at like any other kid, not Tyler, some gay dude.

Tyler is putting an awful lot of thought into this, that is, until he remembers Josh. Josh, the boy who was once so scared about the possibility of coming out that he was brought to tears. The same Josh who was defiant in keeping it to himself, not even telling his parents. Josh, who consciously decided that Tyler was the only one he could truly trust with his secrets within weeks of meeting him. If Josh could overcome all of his fears and doubts, then Tyler could do the same.

So, Tyler tries not to think so much about what other kids or parents might think. Instead, he spends his time getting ready imagining all of the possibilities about how the night will turn out. Josh told Tyler earlier that day that they could go to a party afterwards, to which Tyler agreed. This will be Tyler's first high school party, well, besides that party where he was supposed to meet Jenna how many months ago. That was the night that temporarily but irrevocably jeopardized everything Tyler and Josh had, and so Tyler didn't want to regard that as his first party. He decided that it didn't really count.

Tyler is just tightening his tie as he sees Josh pull up to his house. He parks in the street, making sure to lock his truck (even though Tyler is most certain no one would ever want to steal such a vehicle). Tyler can see Josh through the window, from the fading strawberry milk pink curls to the red Converse matching his red tie and pocket square. Tyler can see the boutineer in his hand, and Tyler is trying to play it cool as he goes to answer the door. However, when Josh knocks and Tyler opens the door, he can't stop smiling like an idiot. Josh greets Tyler with a hug and kiss on the cheek, then setting himself to the task of pinning the small flower to Tyler's lapel, which he manages to do rather seamlessly. Tyler's parents stop the two before they can sneak out for pictures, and they take a handful before the couple finally leaves, Mr. Joseph showing nothing but pride as he transfers his keys into Josh's hand.

On the drive there, both of the boys are grinning like mad. The radio is playing some song by Billy Joel that Tyler can never put a name to, but he's not so worried about that as one of Josh's hands makes it way to his thigh and eases up and down his leg. When they get to the school, Josh finds a little time finding a parking space. The dance started some ten minutes ago, so parking is just short of a nightmare as Josh pulls into the crowded lot. He finally finds a space, and the two leave the car with their fingers entwined.

Immediately, Tyler is subjected to some looks. He does his best to ignore these, and he can't help but wonder if Josh is paying as much attention to these stares as Tyler is. Tyler reassures himself that he's with Josh and he's happy. He tries to let the night take his mind off of everything and just focus on having a good time with his boyfriend. Josh takes him in his arms; the song playing is a slow one. Putting his hands on Tyler's sides, Tyler brings his around Josh's neck, dipping his face down into Josh's chest. Josh always smells good and he always smells the same. He smells like home, Tyler decides; welcoming and familiar.

They're still getting some looks, and not overly concerned or disgusted expressions, but mere eyes pointing in their direction. Tyler closes his eyes, burying his face further. He's not going to worry about what others think. If Josh can do this, so can he. Josh's hands graze up and down his waist, pushing back and forth the thick material of Tyler's suit jacket. Josh rests his chin on top of Tyler's head, sighing contently.

As the night carries on, the room gets hotter, seemingly by the second. Tyler and Josh have both abandoned their jackets and are dressed down in their waistcoats, ties, and shirts. The stares have toned down so much since when they first came in, and Tyler is utterly grateful for that. During another slow song, Tyler's eyes wander around the room and catch his brother Zach's line of vision. Zach, who is currently dancing with a girl whose name Tyler can't remember, or maybe never knew, gives his baby brother a thumbs up, to which Tyler chuckles a little.

The dance seems to die down rather quickly; a good chunk of students have given up on dancing by ten o'clock, and have opted to sit on the few rows of bleachers available and talk with others. Seeing this, Tyler mentions to Josh that he wants to go over there. Some of his teammates, including his brothers, are sitting in a little huddle, and Tyler wants to introduce Josh to them. Besides, the song playing is a fast one.

So, the two make their way over, sitting down in one of the front rows. “Hey,” Tyler greets.

The boys give some nods, as well as some greetings. The small group exchanges pleasantries for some time until the question is asked. “Who's your date, Tyler?”

Tyler's heart races in his chest a little. The question sounded neutral enough, not like they were making fun of him by any means. Still, he starts to get kinda nervous, and the building silence only adds to the tension rising in Tyler's stomach. He's struggling for words as his brother and personal savior Zach steps in, explaining, “That's Tyler's boyfriend, his name is Josh.”  
“Hi, Josh, don't I have chemistry with you?” one of Tyler's teammates ask.

Tyler is so thankful for what feels like the millionth time in one night. As Josh continues the conversation, Tyler locks eyes with Zach, mouthing a thank you.

The group of boys talk for a pretty decent amount of time. It turns out that most of them are in Josh's grade. Tyler subtly hopes that his teammates will grow to befriend Josh; they seemed to get on well enough. More than that, Tyler has been made aware of Josh's lack of friends on several occasions. For the most part, kids didn't really have much against Josh, but he was overlooked, to say the least. Having plenty of acquaintances and a scarce few friends, when it boiled down to it, Josh didn't really have anyone he ever talked to outside of school. That is, until Tyler came along. Josh is dating his best friend, his only friend. As happy as that makes Josh, he can't help but think what might happen if he and Tyler were to break up. Tyler's thought about that, too.

It's not much later that Josh leans into Tyler's ear, whispering, “Do you want to get out of here?”

Tyler looks over at him and nods, agreeing, “Yeah.” The two stand, saying their goodbyes to the others before they collect their jackets and head for the door. They're out in the nippy breeze soon enough, jogging slightly against the cold in order to reach the car sooner. Once inside, the two settle into their seats, Josh taking a moment to start up the car. Leaning over to gaze into Tyler's eyes, Josh asks, “How does that party sound?”

Tyler smiles. “Just great.” The two kiss, Josh cupping Tyler's jaw with one hand as another snakes down the front of his shirt. Tyler reaches over to grip Josh's hips, making his boyfriend grunt a little. The two begin to kiss harder, more desperately and forcefully. Tyler slips his fingers beneath Josh's waistband on either side of him, reaching around for his underwear. Surprisingly, his fingertips don't meet the usual cotton or spandex, but rather, some lace. He raises an eyebrow, opening his eyes to look over as he tugs up on the fabric a little, noticing its black floral design. At that, Tyler starts to feel pretty worked up; he closes his eyes once more and palms himself through the lap of his slacks.

They break their kiss eventually, the two boys grinning at each other. Josh licks his lower lip, tasting the remnants of Tyler's kiss. With that, they head off to the party, both excited to turn a good night into a great night.

 


	35. Chapter 35

They pull up to the party just as it's starting to get rolling. At first, Tyler is just the slightest bit apprehensive. He knows that Josh drinks; he's known that forever, but he's still not sure if he wants to himself. He guesses that he only has one life and he might as well live for the moment. After all, what's the worst that could happen? Tyler's not really sure how the two will get home, and he's not really worried about that at the moment. He's trying to spend more time living and less time in his head, so he decides not to plan and let the chips fall where they may.

Upon setting foot on the hardwood floor, the two are making a beeline for the refrigerator. Most the house reeks of marijuana, which Josh explains to Tyler, who notices only the strange smell, but not what's causing it. It's wafting in from the basement, that's what Josh says. The two get to the fridge, and Josh asks, “What are you drinking, babe?”

“Ah, what do you drink?” Tyler asks. “I've never drank before, so...”

Josh hands Tyler a Redd's Apple Ale wordlessly. “I'm a lightweight, so about two of these later and I'll be getting happy. I mean, you might be a heavier drinker, so if this isn't doing it for you, let me know so you can move on from the cheerleader shit.”

That makes Tyler feel better. He twists off the cap and takes a swig, expecting it to taste, well, _good._ After all, Josh had called it cheerleader shit, so it couldn't be that bad, right? Wrong; Tyler has to choke back the big first drink he'd tried. Wiping his mouth, he sputters, “That's awful!”

Josh shrugs, taking a gulp. “You get used to it. It always tastes pretty bad at first. It's an acquired taste.”

Tyler takes a smaller swallow, repressing a shudder. “If this is cheerleader shit, I don't want to see what the football guys are drinking.”

The two push through the crowds of people. “Yeah, some guys kinda tease me for drinking this but... you know, I'm not going to drink something if I don't like it at least a little.” Not a moment after these words leave his mouth, some upperclassman grips Josh by the back of the neck. He squeezes harshly, making Josh crumple at the knee.

The guy is wearing a letter jacket and has the overwhelming stench of stale Hawkeye vodka wafting from his mouth as he speaks, “Faggot.” He releases Josh roughly, ramming his neck forward. Josh grabs at the sore spot at the base of his neck, pouting slightly as he grumbles, “Fucking asshole.”

Tyler gives his boyfriend's hand a little squeeze and offers a smile. Placing a hand on Josh's hip, Tyler gently turns Josh so that his boyfriend's back is to him. Tyler pulls down the back collar of Josh's jacket just enough to plant the most tender kiss he can in the inflamed spot where that boy had clutched at him. Josh melts just a little, smiling himself when Tyler is facing him again.

After they down their first beer, both boys grab a second (and a third, for Josh), and head down to the basement. Some teens are playing drinking games while others just sit in small clusters and drink. Josh and Tyler opt to pick out a little corner where they polish off their beers. It's not until he's halfway through his second that Tyler feels his buzz, and man, does he feel it. Once he's buzzed, the stuff just tastes like juice, so he goes upstairs and grabs more for him and Josh. Soon enough, Josh is at a happy buzz, but Tyler is drunk. One thing that Josh finds out about Tyler is that a drunk Tyler is a horny Tyler. They're back upstairs, trying to find a room for privacy when Tyler loudly blurts, “Josh, you have such a nice body. Do you know that?”

Josh reddens a little, looking around to see if anyone had heard. Sure enough, some heads are turning, but not enough to make him too uncomfortable. Besides, what Tyler had said wasn't that bad. Josh is just about to get the two a room when Tyler adds, “You have a fantastic ass! Like, I don't have an ass, but you do, so that makes up for it, you know?”

Josh turns around on a dime, unable to ignore the snickers bubbling up around the couple. Josh holds onto Tyler, looking him in the eyes. “Tyler, you need to be quiet, okay?”

Tyler nods, giggling as he makes the “zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket” gesture. The moment Josh has his back turned, Tyler adds, “You're such a dominant person! I love that, Joshie.”

Josh rolls his eyes, opening the door as he tries to ignore other party-goers who are repeating "Joshie" mockingly. Tyler is cramming his hands down the back of Josh's pants when Josh grabs the younger boy by the tie, dragging him inside and closing the door behind the two. Tyler immediately begins to make out with Josh, his hands wildly scratching at racing around Josh's lower back. One goes down the seat of his slacks while the other snakes around his waist, working him through the front of his pants. Between biting kisses, Tyler hikes up the waistband to Josh's panties, smirking, “You wear these for me?”

Josh can feel himself tremble in the lap of his pants. Josh tilts his head back as Tyler plants rough kisses over his neck and collarbones. Tyler is still furiously working on getting Josh off through the thick material of his slacks, and Josh is just looping his fingers in Tyler's belt and holding on as if it were all he had. Eventually, Josh stops, looking at Tyler. “Babe, wait. You're drunk.”

Tyler starts bringing Josh's pants down, asking, “So? We've done it before.”

“Yeah, but...” Josh is quiet as Tyler begins to grind himself against Josh. Shaking his head to help clear his thoughts, Josh insists, “Tyler, no. Let's... let's just cuddle, okay?”

Tyler nods, asking, “No one will come in, right?”

“No,” Josh answers. With that, Tyler strips himself of all his clothing, tossing it on the ground. He makes his way rapidly over to the bed, where he brings himself under the covers and falls asleep. Josh sighs, but smiles, going over to double check that the door is locked before joining Tyler in bed. He slips out of his pants, removing his shirt as well, leaving him in his lacy black underwear. He slides in next to his boyfriend, who kind of hums in his sleep and brings himself closer to Josh. Josh smiles, bringing an arm over Tyler and kissing him gently on the cheek. Quietly, so soft that almost he can't hear it, Josh murmurs, “I love you.” Josh rests his head against Tyler's warm skin, closing his eyes as the steady sound of Tyler's breathing lulls him to sleep.

 


	36. Chapter 36

Tyler blinks himself awake the next morning, his head just aching in the slightest. Seeing Josh sleeping soundly next to him, Tyler lifts the covers momentarily to peek at Josh's body. He can make out the curve of Josh's ass as well as the details of his black panties, and suddenly, the previous night comes rushing back to him. Tyler doesn't remember having sex, but when he looks down to see himself naked, he assumes they had. He cuddles up to Josh, sighing before closing his eyes and trying to return to sleep.

Only, he's wide awake. Luckily enough for him, as he moves himself closer to spoon Josh, he finds his boyfriend shuffling in his sleep. Josh slowly wakes up, yawning as he opens his eyes. He turns to face Tyler, grinning when he sees that his boyfriend is awake. Exchanging a quick peck, Josh greets, “Good morning babe.”

Tyler stretches a little, replying, “Morning, Joshie.”

Josh lays on his back, arms crossed over his torso. “So, last night, huh?”

Assuming he's talking about the sex they must have had the previous night, Tyler agrees, “Yeah, it was great.”

“For you, maybe,” Josh chuckles.

Tyler frowns. “Wait, what? Why?”

Josh rolls his eyes, confessing, “You were kind of a handful, babe.”

“Oh... I'm sorry,” Tyler apologizes.

Josh turns to look at Tyler. He laughs, asking, “Why are you apologizing?”

Tyler shrugs, confessing, “I'm sorry I acted like that during... you know.”

Josh squints, asking, “Wait wait wait, you didn't, you don't...” He cocks his head. “What do _you_ think happened, Tyler?”

“We had sex, didn't we?” Tyler admits.

Josh bursts out laughing, burying his face into Tyler's shoulder. He's laughing for a solid ten seconds as Tyler shakes him a little, demanding, “What, what's so funny?!”

Josh manages to collect himself enough to tell, “Tyler, we didn't have sex. Oh my God, you don't remember last night, do you?”

Tyler shakes his head. “No, not really.” Josh stays there giggling, and Tyler cracks a smile himself. “So, what did happen? I mean, I woke up naked.”

“You did that,” Josh answers. “You just took off all your clothes and went to sleep.”

Tyler's eyes triple in size. “Oh God, nobody else saw that, did they?”

“No,” Josh answers truthfully. “The only one who got embarrassed was me, sorta.”  
Tyler takes Josh's hands in his own, asking, “Why, what happened?”

“You're very open when you're drunk,” Josh shares.

“Well, yeah that makes sense,” Tyler murmurs.

“And horny.”

Tyler buries his face in his hands, groaning, “Oh God.”

“Do you wanna know what you did?” Josh asks.

His voice muffled through the flesh of his palms and fingers, Tyler mumbles, “I dunno; do I?”

“You were kinda funny, if that's any consolation,” Josh offers. “You kept blabbing about us in front of everybody, it was a little embarrassing. Like not that us being in a relationship is embarrassing, but what you were saying was.”

Tyler lifts his head. “What do you mean?”

Josh clears his throat. “Ahem.” In the most high, drunken voice he can muster, he mimics, “'You're such a dominant person, Joshie! You have a fantastic ass! What a body!'”

Tyler's face burns red. “Oh, God.”

“And then our exit was pursued by you shoving your little hands down the ass of my pants,” Josh recalls.

Tyler dips his chin, shaking his head with shame. “I'm sorry, Joshie. I didn't mean to embarrass you.”

Josh hugs him, kissing him once on the cheek. He rubs his back, assuring, “You don't have to be sorry, babe. You didn't mean to.” Josh kneels in bed, shaking Tyler's body a little. “Now get up; it's about nine.”

“In the morning?!” Tyler whines. He rolls over, complaining, “Why are we up so early? Let's sleep longer.”

Josh gets out of bed and puts his hands on his hips. After watching Tyler lay there motionless for a few moments, Josh grips the blanket, tearing it off of his boyfriend.

Tyler lay there, arms wrapped around himself for warmth. “H-hey!” He shivers a little, whining, “JOSH! It's _cold_!”

“Then get the fuck up, buttercup,” Josh replies, stepping into his pants. For good measure, he takes a step forward to smack Tyler on his bare ass.

“Fine, but I'll complain the entire time,” Tyler grumbles, pulling himself to his feet. He scrambles around to find his clothes, pulling on his underwear, followed by his pants. He's messing with his shirt as Josh wraps his hands around Tyler's waist, grinning down at him.

“What, aren't we in a hurry?” Tyler mocks.

Josh pouts, then kissing Tyler. Tyler relaxes into the kiss, grinding his hips against Josh's hands. He takes his own and threads it into the back of Josh's hair, yanking it towards him to bring the older boy closer. Bringing his other hand to Josh's crotch, he cups his boyfriend, making Josh release a breathy shudder against Tyler's lips.

Tyler smirks, slowing down his kissing and releasing his boyfriend. “Shake a leg, baby. Let's hit the road.”

Josh follows obediently, the two leaving with hands entwined. Josh drops Tyler off shortly after they depart before returning home. He gets to his house, glad to see that his parents aren't around. However, he does encounter Abby on his way to his room. “Hi, Abby.”

“What's up, little brother?” she asks.

“Not much,” Josh replies. “I just got back.”

“From where?” she asks, narrowing her eyes.

“Nowhere,” Josh answers.

She grabs Josh by the back of the shirt, telling, “Look, I know you didn't come home last night. Mom and Dad may not know, but this girl does, and I wanna know what you were up to.”

Josh squirms out of her grasp, telling, “Look, whatever you do, _don't_ tell Mom or Dad, alright? I just went to a party, that's all.”

She smirks, pointing at Josh's neckline as she asks, “Is that where you got those?”

Josh's eyes follow where she's pointing, and they widen. “Shit! Fuck, I gotta do something about these.”

“Turtlenecks are your best friend,” Abby tells. “That, or chokers.”

Josh hurries off to his room, not hanging around to get more advice from his sister. Upon entering his bedroom, he shuts the door. He looks down at the bruises that have darkened onto his neck and can't help but smile, thinking of Tyler. He decides they'll go out again once the school week picks up, sometime after basketball. If he's lucky, they'll share another shower, too.

 


	37. Chapter 37

After such a blissful weekend, Tyler is not particularly excited to return back to school. Nor is Josh, what with his two chokers elaborately placed to cover up hickeys. Once they meet each other at breakfast, it’s the first thing Tyler notices. “I like it when you wear chokers.”

Josh rolls his eyes. Tyler, clearly not understanding the purpose of the chokers, asks, “What?” Josh takes ahold of one and nudges it down a little, enough to show a strip of purple bruising. Tyler’s eyes triple in size, and he scoffs, “I did that?”

“Yeah, fucking Edward Cullen,” Josh teases. Tyler pouts a little, so Josh reaches across the table to hold his hand. “Don’t worry about it, babe; I’ll live.” He starts to work on his breakfast, asking between mouthfuls, “You have basketball today?”

Tyler giggles a little as he replies, “We have practice everyday, Joshie.”

Josh grins, admitting, “My bad.” Brushing his hands off against each other, he asks, “Are you up to go out afterwards?”

“And do what?”

“Gee, I don’t know. I was thinking maybe I could just drive to a park and we can sit in the truck and look at each other.” Again, Tyler’s bottom lip droops, so Josh assures, “It’s a joke, babe. But really, I have something planned. You’ll just have to let Papa Josh take charge for once.”

Tyler cringes. “Never let those words leave your mouth again in any order, separate or together.”

“What, take charge?” Josh jokes. 

Tyler shoves him lightly, chuckling. “That sounds good, babe. I’ll text you once we get out, then I’ll be about fifteen minutes while I shower.”

“Sounds good,” Josh agrees. He sits there for a moment, then he groans. 

“What?” 

Josh grumbles, “I have gym today. I freaking hate gym; they’re gonna make fun of me for wearing these.”

Tyler squeezes Josh’s hand, assuring, “You have nothing to be insecure about. Don’t let those dicks get to you.”

“I’ll try.”

Once they leave for their classes, Tyler can’t help but to worry about what exactly will happen, both for Josh in gym class, and for himself during a test. As if a unit test weren’t enough on his goddamn plate, he finds himself worrying about what is happening with Josh in those very moments. He decides he’ll text him about it- no, wait, that’ll just embarrass Josh to ask so soon; he’d know that Tyler was worrying about him. Instead, he’ll wait until lunch to bring it up.

At the same time that Tyler is pulling out his hair trying to remember the specifications of Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Josh is facing his own kind of stress as he enters the locker room. He’s hardly in there for two seconds when one of those lame-brain, letter jacket-wearing gelled-hair jocks demands, “Dun, what the fuck is on your neck?”

Josh ignores him, beginning to change. He pulls off his shirt, searching in his bag for his cutoff. Suddenly, he’s gagging; one of those idiots has jammed his beefy fingers underneath the back of one choker and is pulling it towards himself. “I get it, it’s a collar, isn’t it? Do you know any tricks?”

Once he lets go, Josh turns around on a dime, not knowing that the choker had been slid from its place, revealing some bruises. “Look, just leave me alone! Please?” 

“Dun, you have got some dark ass hickeys!” one of them jeers. “I didn’t know your father was back in town!” 

“Fuck off,” Josh scowls. He turns once more, still looking for that damn shirt. “You guys are sick.” He pulls his shirt on, then sitting to remove his shoes. He’s not even through the first set of laces when he feels his black Calvin Klein briefs rising against his back. He hears from one of them, “I can make him do tricks. Jump, Josh!” With that, he yanks upward, bringing Josh to rise to his feet. 

Josh can feel the material rising further and further. “Stop!” 

“On one condition; lie down.” 

Josh knows there’s no way in hell that he’s going to make himself even more vulnerable while that goon has a grip on his underwear. “Fuck off!” 

“Alright, then. Stay.” With that, the kid drags Josh over to a locker, looping his waistband over the inner handle before closing the door. He pulls on a fistful of Josh’s hair as he leaves, laughing with his friend. 

Utterly humiliated, Josh opens the locker door behind him, releasing himself. He’s sick to his stomach and wants to cry, so he only finds it normal to contain what shred of dignity he has left and silently collect his things, go to the nurse, and go home “sick.” 

Tyler’s looking forward to lunch with Josh, not only to see his boyfriend, but to alleviate some of the concerns he had. Tyler knew the guys in Josh’s gym class, and he knew what assholes they could be, especially to Josh. He hopes that everything went over okay, but when he is the only one sitting at his lunch table, it doesn’t look too promising. He skips food, rushing to the locker room to call Josh. 

He doesn’t check to see if it’s empty before dialing, and that will get him in the end of this chapter. No, he just dials and presses the phone to his ear. “Babe? You aren’t at school, are you okay?” 

On the other line, Josh replies, “I’m fine, I promise. Just kind of embarrassed and alone, but okay.”

“What happened?” Tyler asks.

Josh hesitates. “I don’t really want to talk about it. Not right now, at least. Maybe I’ll laugh at it when one of those jackasses ends up in prison for daterape.”   
Even when down, Josh still has his sense of humor. “Okay. Are we still hanging out after school?”

“Hell yes, no time to cancel,” Josh replies. “Just text me like normal and I’ll pick you up outside of the gym doors.”

“Okay, angel. I love you. See you soon,” Tyler wishes. 

“Not soon enough,” Josh groans. “Bye.” 

Tyler stands there for a moment, looking down as Josh’s contact photo fades. He moves towards the bathroom at the back of the locker room, only to see a much bigger upperclassman standing there. Tyler pushes past him, excusing himself with a, “Sorry.” At the urinal, he has his back turned to the teen. He’s barely gotten himself started when that person asks, “Is it true that you’re a faggot?”

Tyler flinches, almost waiting and hoping to see that the boy is talking to someone else, despite the fact that they’re the only two in the room. “I have a boyfriend.”

“You play basketball, right?” 

Tyler nods, to which the boy smirks, “You have a thing for balls.”

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is. Just leave me alone, alright?” He flushes, zips himself up and is moving past the boy when he is punched in the stomach. Clutching his gut, the kid shoves Tyler to the ground, then leaving. 

“What the hell?” Tyler whines. He gets up slowly, dusting himself off. His stomach is still sore, but otherwise he’s fine. Grumbling to himself, he hurries back to lunch, where he sits on edge the entire period. 


	38. Chapter 38

Tyler gets through basketball practice alright. He still is in a sour mood after that encounter during lunch, but he decides to try and put it behind himself. After all, that was just a weird, one time incident, he's sure of it. He's more worried about Josh; Josh predicted that those kids would come after him, and they did. Tyler hopes that they don't make a habit out of turning his boyfriend into a punching bag, but he's afraid that they already have.

Josh picks Tyler up, exchanging a quick kiss as Tyler settles into the passenger seat of Josh's truck. “Hey, angel. How was practice?”

“Good,” Tyler answers. “You know we have a game next week, right?”

“Mhmm,” Josh answers, pulling out of the parking lot.

“Were you planning on going?” Tyler asks timidly.

Josh scoffs. “Are you kidding me?” Tyler's heart falls into his stomach, but it is instantly lifted when Josh clarifies, “Of course I'll come; why wouldn't I?”  
“Great,” Tyler chuckles. “I'm glad you're coming; I need all the help I can get.”

“You'll do fine, babe,” Josh assures. “Look, there's no way that they'd put you on varsity as a freshman if they didn't know you'd do great. You have a lot of potential, Tyler.”

Tyler grins at that, and they sit in a comfortable silence for a moment. Tyler feels the need to bring up what's been bugging him all day. “Did those guys from gym mess with you?”

Josh groans. “Can we not talk about it?”

“But I want to,” Tyler pleads. “I want to know that they're not a threat. I want to make sure you're okay.”  
“Look, if it came to it, I could fend for myself,” Josh promises. “It's just not fucking worth starting a fight over, the stuff they're saying- or doing to me.”

“Josh, you have _got_ to stick up for yourself. They'll just keep doing it if they think you won't retaliate,” Tyler reasons.

“Look, when it's your bully, you can be brave or noble or whatever you want to call it and jack them in the face. Enjoy your suspension from school, Tyler,” Josh snaps. There's a longer pause, this one not so comfortable. Stealing glances at Tyler, who has fixed his heavy gaze out the window, Josh apologizes, “I'm sorry, baby. That was mean. I”m just really stressed out.” Tyler still doesn't look at him. Josh shrugs, adding, “Technically, they didn't even hurt me; I think I can stand someone pulling on my underwear for another year or so. Hopefully, graduation and adulthood marks the end of all that.”

“Aren't you embarrassed, though?” Tyler asks.

“Of course, I'm embarrassed,” Josh answers. “I'm fucking humiliated. I always am, what else is new? I just try not to dwell on it for so long anymore.”

Tyler looks out at where Josh is taking them and asks, “Why are you around this part of town?”

Josh pulls into a random driveway, parking. He then withdraws his phone, sending a text. “I wanted to do this with you, Tyler.”

“Do what?” Tyler demands. Not a moment after he says that, a figure appears from inside the house they're parked at. The kid jogs out to Josh's window, the two murmur for about five seconds, and the next thing Tyler knows, Josh is speeding towards home and his entire truck smells like mild skunk. “Is that...”

“Look, I never pegged myself a burnout either, but there's a first time for everything, right?” Josh tells. “I still haven't found my stereotypical high school archetype; this could be it.”

“I don't want to do any,” Tyler mumbles.

“You don't have to, babe. You can still hang out with me while I'm high, though,” Josh tells. “I mean, if you want absolutely nothing to do with it, I can take you home now and you'll stay there for the rest of the night.”

“No, Joshie; I want to be with you,” Tyler begs.

Josh reaches across the console, lacing some fingers with Tyler. In the smallest voice Tyler has ever heard come from the brawny teen, Josh pleads, “Then stay.”

They get to Josh's house, which is empty for the night. That's the only reason Josh brought the stuff into his own home, Tyler realizes. Josh rushes inside, collecting an empty can of Monster, tape, aluminmum foil, and a pen from the kitchen before moving towards his room. “How do you even do it?” Tyler asks.

“You smoke it,” Josh replies.

“No, duh,” Tyler answers. “But like... what's all that?”

Josh goes into his room and withdraws a lighter, heating up the tip of the pen. “I'm making a bong.” Tyler watches as the pen's tip grows hotter and hotter. Josh thrusts it into the can, puncturing it's hollow shell. Taking off the end of the pen, he wraps some aluminum foil around it like a bowl and finishes this by fastening electrical tape all around it. Tyler is very impressed. “Wow.”

“Thank you, Google,” Josh murmurs. He takes out the small baggie of weed, pulling it apart into little pieces with his hands. Scooping these into the aluminum foil bowl, he pours water into the can before finally lighting the weed, pressing his mouth to it, and taking a long inhale. He withdraws, swallows, and exhales a cloud of smoke, coughing like crazy. “You sure you don't want to try?”

Tyler's tentative, like, so scared. “I dunno.”

“Here,” Josh offers, struggling to regain his breath. With that, he takes another long hit, grabbing the front of Tyler's shirt and blowing it into his boyfriend's face. “Open your mouth, suck it, swallow it, let it out.”

Tyler does as he's told, feeling the smoke go through him before watching it leave. “Okay, that's kind of cool.”

Josh smiles. “Right?”

The two then take turns with hits, Josh's turns always being deeper and longer. However, both being first-timers, while the drugs take a moment to settle in their systems, their effect is massive. It hits Josh first, like a truck. Tyler is laughing at his boyfriend's expressions and superfluous mannerisms when it hits him as well.

The two turn on Netflix to get themselves to calm down; they spend about twenty minutes trying to turn on the television but getting sidetracked. They manage to turn on That 70s Show and the two settle into bed. They're watching an episode with Ashton Kutcher scantily clad, and Tyler can feel himself get hard, like _really_ hard. If he weren't high, he'd dismiss the idea of masturbation, but with marijuana clouding both his lungs and judgment, a lethargic hand easily snakes its way down the front of his joggers. Lifting the waistband of his grey briefs out of the way, he slips his hand underneath, pawing at himself lazily. It takes Josh some time to notice, and when he does, his eyes quadruple in size. “Wow.”

Tyler looks at him, looks down at his own crotch, and proceeds to pull his pants down along with his underwear, freeing himself. He shifts his hips a little bit, sniffles, and continues to work himself. Josh is staring at him agape, and without thinking twice, he grabs Tyler's cock, pumping it himself. He starts to go down on Tyler, reaching up to stroke the boy's chest as well. Tyler is brought to an orgasm very quickly, and Josh swallows without hesitation. The two lay there for the rest of the night, and it's almost midnight when Josh murmurs, “Dude, I don't think I'm good to drive you home.”

“I'll just stay here, then,” Tyler decides. He starts tugging on Josh's pants.

Josh giggles. “What are you doing?”

“I want to see your ass,” Tyler informs. “I can't stop thinking about it.” He and Josh wrestle around sloppily, hearts pounding fast. Eventually, Josh manages to pin Tyler, and not with all that much difficulty either. “I love you, Joshie.”

Josh smiles, placing a gentle kiss on the tip of Tyler's nose. “I love you, too.”

 


	39. Chapter 39

The two wake up feeling entirely refreshed. Tyler, who is the first to awaken, looks down at himself to see that he is nude from the waist down. He glances over to Josh, who lays fully clothed, shoes and all. Tyler peers around the room, looking to find his pants or underwear. Rising slowly so as not to wake Josh, he pulls on the bottom hem of his shirt as he peeks around. He finds his joggers off to the side of the bed, and slipping into those, he decides that underwear is no necessity and that pair of grey briefs will show themselves soon enough.

Josh stirs, then waking slowly. He looks over at Tyler and grins. “Hey, babe. How'd you sleep?”

“Surprisingly well,” Tyler admits. He gets back into bed with Josh, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. He kisses him on the cheek, sighing contently.

The two lay there for a while, finally getting up. As Josh rises, he leaves beneath him nothing but Tyler's missing pair of underwear. Tyler snatches them before Josh notices, stuffing them into his own pocket with a bitten back smirk.

The two wander to the kitchen, where Josh notices, “Shit; it's almost noon.”

“Lunch sounds good,” Tyler mumbles, sitting himself down at the kitchen table. He looks over at Josh, who is starting to root through the cabinet. Finally, he gains the courage to open an old wound. “How long have those guys in gym been dicks to you?”

Josh, whose back is still to Tyler, answers, “Let's put it this way; they're the same guys who were making fun of my hair when you and I first started working out.”

Tyler frowns, telling, “You don't have to take that.”

“I know I don't, trust me, I do,” Josh agrees. “I don't have the greatest options though; if I fight back, I'll either get suspended, get my ass kicked to a pulp, or both. There's not really a lot I can do about it.”

“It just sucks that they get away with it,” Tyler grumbles.

Josh nods. “Welcome to high school, where the shitty people peak.”

“I ran into someone shitty the other day,” Tyler confesses.

“Yeah?” Josh asks. “Who?”  
“That's the thing; I've never even met the guy. It was just yesterday and he fucking confronted me in the bathroom,” Tyler tells.

Josh turns around, elbow deep in a family-sized box of Cheez-Itz. “So, what happened?”

“He punched me in the stomach and left,” Tyler shares. “That's literally all that happened; so I'm just trying to forget about it.”

“That's weird,” Josh murmurs. He tosses the box of food at Tyler, who gratefully catches it and begins to scoop a handful out.

“It was real fucking strange,” Tyler agrees. Changing the subject, he asks, “You know when our game is, right?”

Josh nods. “Mhmm. It's on Monday.”

“Good boy.” Tyler hesitates, then asks, “Will you be okay, out there all by yourself in the bleachers like that?”

“What do you mean?”

Tyler scowls. “You know what I mean. Is anyone going to pick on you? If that's the case, I don't know that I want you there.”

“I'm a big boy,” Josh reminds. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know. I'm just worried; I don't want anything to happen to you,” Tyler tells. He lobs the box of snacks back to Josh, who returns it to its space in the cupboard.

“Tyler, I know those guys; I've grown up with them. They're limp dick cowards who can't face consequences. They'll avoid what trouble they can,” Josh assures.

Tyler gets up, standing behind Josh to rub his shoulders. “You're so tense.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Tell you what, my parents are out of town for the weekend and my brothers were planning on throwing a rager tonight. I was going to just stay here or hole myself up in my room, but why don't we both go? It'll be good for us to blow off some steam,” Tyler decides.

“You just want to get high again,” Josh teases.

“Actually, drunk,” Tyler corrects. “I promise I'll be good this time.”

Josh rolls his eyes. “Tyler Robert Joseph, the word 'good' is all but entirely absent from your vocabulary.”

Tyler giggles, asking, “Is that a yes or a no, Joshie?”

Josh smiles, gazing down into Tyler's eyes. “What do you think?”

 


	40. Chapter 40

Tyler and Josh head towards the Joseph home, where already they find Jay lugging a keg from the back porch into the living room. Meanwhile, Zach is taking anything and everything that even looks breakable and is trying to decide what to do with it. “Tyler! You’re smart, where should all this stuff go?” he asks.

Tyler frowns. “Not all of the rooms lock in this house… why not your room; you have a lock.”

“I might want to bring a girl in there,” Zach explains. “Don’t want to be in the middle of bumping uglies and meet eyes with a picture of Jay in second grade.”

Tyler nods, suggesting, “You could stick them in the garage and hide the clicker.”

“Boom! There you go! That’s why we keep you around Tyler; you got great ideas,” Zach says as he rushes out the door with an armful of pictures. 

Tyler rolls his eyes, making his way towards Jay, who has made serious headway with the keg; he’s just setting it to rest when Josh groans. 

“What?” Tyler asks. 

“Keg beer,” Josh answers. “It’s so gross.”

Jay stands up and faces Josh, asking, “You got any better ideas?”

“Redds Apple Ale? Or Mike’s Hard?” Josh suggests. “Raspberry Smirnoff in a pinch.”

Jay rolls his eyes, telling, “You can have that cheerleader shit whenever you like, but when I’m paying, it’s keg beer.”

Josh blushes a little, which makes Tyler demand, “Jay, be nice to Josh; you’re embarrassing him.”

“You know what?” Jay tells. “I’m sorry.” He holds out a hand for Josh, who is about to accept the handshake when his pants are pulled down from behind. He turns to look, only to be pushed over by Jay. Josh, with his pants around his ankles, finds himself toppling over Zach, who had gotten on all fours behind Josh after pantsing him. 

Zach stands and the two Joseph siblings are in tears as they laugh, exchanging a side hug as they look down at Josh. Josh, blushing red like mad, stands up, trying to look as tough as he can while pulling his pants back up. That’s hard enough, to look tough while pulling up your pants, but it’s even harder when everyone previously saw your Star Wars boxers. Hands still on his waistband, Josh turns away, heading straight for Tyler’s room. 

Tyler shoots his brothers a disapproving look. Zach does look sorry, but Jay just offers a half-assed shrug before Tyler rushes after Josh. “Joshie!” Hurrying through the house, he enters the hallway just as Josh is closing the door to Tyler’s bedroom. Tyler waits, then comes in slowly, to see Josh lying on his bed, back to the door. Closing the door behind him, Tyler says, “You have to admit, the execution was perfect for not having any verbal planning. I think those two have a psychic connection sometimes.” He sits next to Josh, who doesn’t chuckle, or smile, or even move to make more room for Tyler on the bed. “Come on babe, don’t take it personally. They’re just dumb goofballs, that’s the way they’ve always been.”

Josh shakes his head. “I’ve never been embarrassed in front of you like that.”

“Well, I mean, that one time I walked in on those letter jacket guys and you in the locker room. Oh, I saw that fight in the lunchroom too, when we weren’t a thing? Wait, I  _ gave  _ you a wedgie, Josh. And at the party? When that guy called  you a…” Tyler stops himself when he hears Josh start to cry. “Sorry, helping or hurting?”

“It’s not you,” Josh comforts. “It’s not them, either; I’m just too sensitive.”

“Oh, you are not,” Tyler assures. “They pull that shit on me all the time, and it still upsets me every now and then, but I’ve grown up with it. I’ve gotten used to it. For anyone else, they’d get their feelings hurt.” Tyler places a kiss on Josh’s forehead, brushing some of his pink curls away with his thumb. Josh is still moping, so Tyler decides to tell, “Hey, remember when we first met, and you literally saved my ass? That was great of you, Josh. You didn’t know me, but you didn’t care. You wanted to help me.” 

There’s a pause, and Josh confesses, “Well, I thought you were pretty cute, so that helped your case.” Eventually, Josh wipes his eyes, getting up. “If they’re not going to get some cheerleader shit, you and I should find a way to get our hands on some.”

“I can use Jay’s fake I.D,” Tyler offers. 

Josh scrunches his nose. “You are too cute to pass for him.”

Tyler giggles and mocks hitting Josh. “That’s my brother, man! Besides, maybe I take bad pictures.”

“Whatever, look, I’m talking to a guy I know, okay? He’s 21. Every now and then I’d give him some money to buy me some. He’s never let me down,” Josh mumbles.

“How do you know him?” Tyler asks.

“Oh, you know. He went to my school… moved away,” Josh mutters. After a moment, he says in the quietest voice, “Took my virginity.” 

Tyler frowns. “Wait, what did you say?”

“He… we never really dated, okay? We just kind of fucked on and off my sophomore year,” Josh explains. 

“And you never told me?” Tyler demands, pulling away from Josh. 

“I didn’t think it was important,” Josh admits. “I haven’t thought about him in God knows how long.”

“You had sex with a guy and you’re just deciding to tell me now?” Tyler snarls.

“Babe, please, don’t be mad. Let’s not fight, okay? Don’t make it into a big thing,” Josh pleads.

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want,” Tyler growls. He moves for the door, shouting, “And you’ll do  _ whoever  _ the fuck you want, I guess!” With that, he slams it shut, storming out towards the living room. Jay and Zach are giving him looks with raised eyebrows. 

Jay begins, “Did we… that wasn’t about us, right?”

“No,” Tyler scowls. “I’m going for a walk. If you see Josh tonight, do me a big favor and tell him that he’s a dillhole.” 

Jay and Zach give a thumbs-up to Tyler as he leaves. About fifteen minutes later, Josh resurfaces from Tyler’s room, calling for his boyfriend. He meets Jay and Zach, and immediately, Jay spits, “Dillhole.”

“What?” Josh asks.

“Jay, shut the fuck up,” Zach orders. He turns to Josh, asking, “What the hell happened between you and Tyler?”

“Don’t wanna talk about it,” Josh grumbles.

Zach disappears into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of Fireball. “Wanna drink about it?”


	41. Chapter 41

Tyler thinks a lot about everything on his walk, and for some reason, he’s so upset about this that he can’t snap out of it. He knows it shouldn’t matter, that Josh was with another guy some odd year and a half ago, but just the fact that Josh never told him made him worry. The fact that this guy was still buying Josh drinks also made Tyler uncomfortable. Tyler tells Josh everything; if he had a random ex, he would definitely tell Josh about it. All that he can now think about is the image of Josh on some mystery guy,  _ his  _ Josh. Some random dude grabbing Josh’s ass, pulling his hair, biting his bottom lip. Laughing with him and kissing him and holding his hand and playing with his hair and rubbing his back when he lies down because he likes it so much. It’s all too much to take in at once; Tyler feels sick. He wonders if Josh really trusts him, if Josh really sees them turning into something more serious. Why wouldn’t he be honest with Tyler if he saw a true future with him? Tyler couldn’t help but think he was a smash-then-pass round in some sort of sick game. After all, Josh would be a senior next year; he would have a lot more on his mind than some little sophomore who plays basketball. Even worse, Josh could invest in Tyler as a high school sweetheart and then look for some college tail. He could break Tyler’s heart and fill whatever hole it might leave with countless other guys, and Tyler knew that with the way Josh is with talking about things or expressing emotions, he’d be fine with that. Tyler doesn’t know what to think anymore when it comes to him and Josh; as far as he’s concerned, they’re in a tailspin. 

Tyler gets back from his walk, only to find his brothers slamming back Fireball with Josh. Josh doesn’t even see him come in, and his brothers just kind of eye Tyler as he makes his way to his room. They don’t necessarily glare at him, but they don’t look sorry for him either; all they can offer is a mild, steady look in his direction. At the time, he needed more than that. 

He hears the party start to build outside of his door. He can only hope that Josh goes home by the time he decides to go out there; what he’s really wanting about now is to drown his sorrows in whatever’s nearby. Redds, keg beer, weed, cigarettes, sleeping pills, anything that might make him feel just a little less useless, a little less second-choice, a little less discarded. When he hears the party reach what he hopes will be a maximum volume for the night, he heads out. Pushing through huddles of kids, he manages to get to the kitchen, where anyone who brought hard alcohol nicely lined it up along the Joseph’s kitchen counter. Tyler is reading alcohol per volume percentages when Zach stumbles up to him. “Hey, Tyler, about earlier man…” 

“Don’t want to talk about it,” Tyler grumbles. “Want to cry about it, want to drink about it, want to forget about it, in that order.”

“Aw, dude, were you crying?” Zach asks.

“Shut up,” Tyler growls. “Which of these will get me real drunk?”

Zach, suppressing a burp that would reek of Fireball and Bud Light, asks, “You a lightweight?”

“A little,” Tyler responds.

Zach gives him a hug, whispering in his ear, “Then let’s do some shots.”

Tyler takes his first shot of Hawkeye, chased with a Coke. It tastes awful, but the bottle said 40% so he takes some more, and then some more, and then some more. By the time he’s done, he can tell he’s pretty drunk by the way he’s stumbling around and messing up his words. He moves towards the living room, where the party is at its height. Looking around, he spots Josh from across the room, to see his boyfriend talking to someone who’s a guy, looks 21, and is holding a case of Redds beer that is missing two bottles. Even in his drunken haze, Tyler can connect the dots; Josh has one of the bottles against his lips. 

Tyler makes his way over, smacking Josh in the chest. “Hey, asshole.”

Josh lowers his drink, repressing some coughs as he swallows. “Go away. I don’t want to see you right now.”

“Yeah, you’d rather see random guy number 4 tonight. Or is it 6? I don’t know; how many guys have you slept with and never told me about?” Tyler demands. 

The guy who was standing with Josh orders, “Hey, man, fuck off.”

Tyler shoves him, slurring, “Who are you to tell me to fuck off? That’s my fucking boyfriend.”

“Yeah, and he doesn’t want to talk to you,” the guy reports. He sets the beers down, shoving Tyler back. “So buzz off, fucking midget.”

“Fuck you!” Tyler yells, throwing a punch. 

The guy manages to catch the punch and knees Tyler in the crotch. Tyler goes down, tears in his eyes as he chokes out, “Stay away from my boyfriend!”

“You looking to get your ass kicked?” the guy shouts back.

“I might be, motherfucker!” Tyler retorts. 

“Dude, no,” Josh tells, tugging on the guy’s sleeve. “Come on, man; he’s fifteen. He’s a little kid.”

Tyler struggles to get himself to his feet, sneering, “I’m not a fucking little kid, okay? I can take care of myself.”

“You don’t look like it, Ty,” Josh mumbles. 

Tyler glares at him. “Why don’t you go say hi to those jocks? We’ll see how long you last.” He gets in Josh’s face, barking, “ _ Don’t  _ tell me I can’t take care of myself when you know damn well you can’t at almost 18 years old, fucking bitch.”

“Call me a bitch again,” Josh orders.

“Fine, bitch,” Tyler snaps. 

Josh shoves Tyler to the ground, then moving past him. Tyler climbs back to his feet, tailing Josh. “Where you going, Joshie? Off to sleep with a guy, or five, or ten?!”

“It was one guy, goddamn it!” Josh retorts. “It was one guy, before you.”

Tyler shakes his head. “I don’t know if I believe a fucking word you say anymore.”

Josh scoffs. “Crybaby.”

“Pussy.”

Josh rolls his eyes. “Whatever, man. I’m not going to fight you.”

Tyler raises his eyebrows. “Fine! Save all that energy for whatever guy you’re going to be sucking off in ten minutes!” He watches Josh leave, wiping tears on his sleeve. Tyler stumbles back to the kitchen, looking to drink more, only to see Zach. “Dude, that sounded fucking rough.”

“Whatever,” Tyler growls.

“You fucking chewed him out, Tyler. You were really  mean,” Zach tells.

“So?” 

Zach takes Tyler by the front of his shirt. “Stop acting like a little prick. Go apologize.” He moves Tyler towards the door, helping him to get outside. He urges, “Come on, Tyler, do the right thing.”

Even though he’s at a ridiculous blood-alcohol level, Tyler knows his brother is right. He has to go try and make things right with Josh, and only a small part of him is worried that his drunken self will only make it worse. In a drunken haze, meanders around the backyard, looking for his boyfriend. He runs into something hard, looks up, and realizes that the “something” he ran into was the chest of an upperclassman. 


	42. Chapter 42

 Sober Tyler would be terrified, apologizing like mad and running away with his tail tucked between his legs. After all, this guy weighs as much as about two Tyler’s would soaking wet, and he could probably bench press double that.However, drunk Tyler is a stupid bitch, because he orders, “Watch where you’re fucking going.”

The upperclassman laughs, grabbing a fistful of Tyler’s shirt and hauling him around the yard. Another hand full of Tyler’s hair, he drags the smaller boy around, calling, “Who wants to see a freshman get his drunk ass beat?”

Practically anyone and everyone who was outside gathers around him, whipping out their phones and setting down their drinks wherever they can. A mere one person calls, “Dude, he’s just a freshman; don’t hurt him.”

“Alright, I guess I’m not gonna  _ hurt  _ him, necessarily,” the guy agrees. “I just think this little fag needs an attitude adjustment.” He pulls harder on Tyler’s hair and bends him over. He grabs the waistband of Tyler’s grey briefs and starts pulling, and everyone is laughing as the underwear stretches up Tyler’s back. The kid gets behind Tyler, pulling harder so that Tyler’s on his tip toes. Planting a knee up his ass as well, Tyler is lifted of the ground by his underpants and then released. “Those have his name in them, by the way. Real cute.”

Tyler, clutching onto his sore ass, retreats to the house, kids laughing at him as he leaves. He runs once more into Zach, who asks, “Have you talked to Josh?” 

Tyler shakes his head. Just then, Zach notices the kids in the den pointing at Tyler’s back and laughing. Confused, Zach takes his brother by the elbow and spins him around. Seeing the underwear practically up to his neck, Zach chuckles, “How long have you been wearing a G-string, Tyler?”

Tyler, face red, answers, “Since that fucking football player decided I should be.”

“Aw, come on. Who did that?” Zach demands.

Tyler shakes his head. “No, it’s okay Zachie; I deserved it, trust me.” He looks around the room and asks, “Have you seen Josh?”

Peering around them, Zach clicks his tongue. “No I haven’t. He’s got to be here somewhere, though. Why don’t you check the rooms?”

Tyler nods, pushing through the crowd to find Josh. He goes into the first room in the hallway, which is Jay’s room. He stands there blinking, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Flicking on the light, he is greeted with a pair of screams followed by a shirt thrown at him. “Tyler, GET OUT.”

Tyler slams the door behind him, mumbling, “Jesus.” Looking on the doorknob, he does notice that he didn’t see the scrunchie around it. “My bad.”

It’s a process of elimination as Tyler goes through the hall, until finally, he reaches his room. He opens the door to see a familiar pink head of hair near the ground. Josh is sitting there, on Tyler’s carpet, knees hugged to his chest, head bowed. Tyler closes the door as quietly as he can behind him, telling, “Joshie.”

Josh looks up, sees Tyler, and immediately stands. “Sorry; I’ll get out. I just came in here 

because I knew it would be quiet. I like parties and all, but… sometimes it just gets too loud, there’s too many people, and it freaks me out.” Josh heads towards the door, mumbling, “Sorry again.”

Tyler grabs Josh by the elbow, responding, “I’m sorry about everything that went down tonight, Josh. I totally overreacted. My feelings were hurt but, I still think I made an ass out of myself. I’ll get over it; I’m a big boy.”

Josh hugs Tyler, telling, “I’m sorry that I shoved you… and that I never told you about him.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Tyler mumbles into Josh’s chest. “Can we go back to normal?”

Josh breaks the hug, a hand on either of Tyler’s arms. He beams at him. “Of course we can.” He takes Tyler by the arm, moving him towards the bed, “You’re starting to sober up some… maybe we can…” Josh stops, and then spins Tyler around so his back is to him. “Dude, what happened here?”

“Oh, some guy did that because I bumped into him,” Tyler answers. 

Josh nods, asking, “So you’ve been walking around like that ever since?”

“Well, I wanted to fix it earlier, but everyone kept looking at me and I didn’t want to show my butt,” Tyler grumbles. 

Josh chuckles, “Oh my lord, Tyler.” Without asking, he pulls Tyler’s pants down, followed by his underwear. “Kudos to him though; these were up pretty high.” Tossing them to the side, Josh wraps his arms around Tyler, teasing, “Your name is in those.”

“Shut up,” Tyler growls. “I grew up with brothers; it gets confusing whose is whose.”

Josh spins Tyler around to face him, then starting to kiss his neck. Tyler, nude from the waist down, starts working on Josh’s pants. Josh stops momentarily, only to bring his pants and underwear to his ankles and step out of them. He removes Tyler’s shirt, then his own, and the two lock lips as they make their way over to the bed. 

Tyler lays down first, and Josh brings a hand up Tyler’s inner thigh, giving it a squeeze. He starts sucking on Tyler’s neck again, inching down towards his collarbones, the center of his chest. He moves over to one nipple and pinches it, then taking it into his mouth and bringing his tongue across it. Tyler moans a little, biting his lip to quiet himself. Josh moves down towards Tyler’s hips, planting a kiss on either side of his waist. Finally, kissing his inner thighs, Josh takes Tyler’s cock into his hand, thrusting it just a few times before bringing it to his mouth.

Tyler is a total wreck as Josh goes to work. He ends up coming very quickly, and it’s over like that. Josh crawls back up towards Tyler and spoons him. They lay there, feeling each other’s warmth, and eventually, Tyler says, “I love you so much, Josh. I’m so lucky that a hot guy like you likes me, like really actually digs what I’m about.”

Josh laughs. “I guess you’re not as sober as I thought.” Kissing Tyler’s cheek, he assures, “I love you too, babe. Everything about you.” 

“Maybe it’s a good thing that we fought tonight,” Tyler says. “Otherwise this might not have happened.”

“Yeah,” Josh agrees. “Maybe.”


End file.
